CYCLING ENDURANCE PERFORMANCE AND PERIPHERAL MUSCLE FATIGUE FOLLOWING MARINE LIPID FRACTION PCSO-524™ SUPPLEMENTATION AND ECCENTRIC EXERCISE IN UNTRAINED MALES

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Intensive or unaccustomed eccentric exercise is known to cause exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) commonly resulting in delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). EIMD/DOMS can result in decrements in endurance and resistance exercise performance. Although many treatments have been investigated for the prevention and alleviation of EIMD/DOMS, success has been limited. PCSO-524™ marine lipid fraction has been found to attenuate symptoms of inflammatory diseases such as arthritis and asthma, and thus may be a viable intervention to reduce inflammation-related EIMD/DOMS. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of PCSO-524™ supplementation on cycling endurance performance, peripheral muscle fatigue, muscle soreness and muscle damage following eccentric exercise. METHODS: Subjects were thirty-two healthy, untrained men aged 18 – 26 who had not previously exercised for more than three times per week for 30 minutes each session for the past 90 days and had not participated in resistance training during the previous 60 days. Subjects were randomly assigned to consume 8 capsules PCSO-524™ (800 mg olive oil, 400 mg lipid extract) daily or olive oil (1200 mg) placebo for 30 days. Subjects completed three 20 minute cycling time trials (TT), thirty days of PCSO-524™ or placebo supplementation, a 20 minute downhill run (DHR) at -16% grade after 26 days of supplementation and potentiated quadriceps twitch force (Qtw,pot) measures before and after the latter two TT. Each subject completed a familiarization TT, a pre-supplementation TT and a TT 24 hours following DHR. DOMS was measured via 11 point pain scale at baseline, following supplementation and 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours following DHR. Slow skeletal troponin I (sTnI) was measured pre-supplementation, post-supplementation and following DHR at 0, 2, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours. RESULTS: Cycling time trial performance was not significantly affected by DHR for PCSO-524™ (F = .106, p = .749) or placebo (F = .122, p = .732) groups. No significant differences were found in mean power output between PCSO-524™ and placebo groups. PCSO-524™ attenuated DOMS significantly at 72 hours (T = 2.48, p < .05; 95% CI = 0.3 – 2.6), and 96 hours post-run (T = 2.1, p < .05; 95% CI = 0.04 – 2.7). Qtw,pot decreased for the placebo group following DHR (T = 2.095, p < .05), but did not change significantly for the PCSO-524™ group (T = .38, p > .05). Serum sTnI was significantly (p < .05) lower in the PCSO-524™ group at 2, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours post-DHR. CONCLUSIONS: Thirty days of PCSO-524™ supplementation does not improve cycling endurance performance in untrained men after eccentric exercise compared to placebo. Thirty days of PCSO-524™ supplementation reduces muscle soreness following eccentric exercise, peripheral quadriceps fatigue in EIMD-affected muscles after endurance exercise and muscle damage following eccentric exercise.