The effect of chronic soluble keratin supplementation in physically active individuals on body composition, blood parameters and cycling performance.

Background: Keratins are structural, thiol-rich proteins, which comprise 90% of total poultry feather weight. Their favourable amino acid profile suggests the potential for use as a protein source and ergogenic aid for endurance athletes, following treatment to increase digestibility. This study investigated whether 4 weeks of soluble keratin (KER) consumption (0.

Multiday Pomegranate Extract Supplementation Decreases Oxygen Uptake During Submaximal Cycling Exercise, but Cosupplementation With N-acetylcysteine Negates the Effect.

Pomegranate extract (POMx) has been suggested as an ergogenic aid due to its rich concentration of polyphenols, which are proposed to enhance nitric oxide bioavailability, thereby improving the efficiency of oxygen usage and, consequently, endurance exercise performance. Although acute POMx supplementation improves aerobic exercise performance in untrained individuals, trained athletes appear to require chronic supplementation for a similar effect. Furthermore, the combination of POMx with a thiol antioxidant may prove more effective than POMx alone, due to the protective effects of thiols on nitric oxide.

The effect of acute pomegranate extract supplementation on oxygen uptake in highly-trained cyclists during high-intensity exercise in a high altitude environment.

Background: Recent research has indicated that pomegranate extract (POMx) may improve performance during aerobic exercise by enhancing the matching of vascular oxygen (O) provision to muscular requirements. POMx is rich in ellagitannin polyphenols and nitrates (NO), which are both associated with improvements in blood flow and O delivery. Primarily, this study aimed to determine whether POMx improves performance in a cycling time trial to exhaustion at 100%VO (TTE100%) in highly-trained cyclists.