Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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09.03.2014 |
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Lychee extract boosts athletes' endurance capacity
Endurance athletes who take 200 mg lychee extract daily for a month can keep going for longer at a high level of intensity. Korean researchers at Seoul National University describe the performance enhancing effect of lychee extract in the Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition.
Lychees
Study
The researchers divided the men into three groups. One control group were given a placebo, the second control group took 800 mg vitamin C and 320 IE vitamin E daily. The experimental group took 200 mg daily of a lychee extract called Oligonol.
Oligonol is manufactured by the Japanese Amino-Up Chemical. It contains an alcohol-based extract of lychee and an extract of green tea. Previous tests on athletes have shown that it reduces fatigue. [Adv Exerc Sports Physiol 2008;13:939.] [Offline]
Before and after supplementation the researchers got the subjects to run on a treadmill at 80 percent of their VO2max. The figure below shows how many minutes the subjects managed to keep this up.
Results
The lychee extract had no effect on fat or muscle mass, nor did it have an antioxidant effect. It had no effect on the subjects' maximal oxygen intake either.
The extract did have an effect on the men's anaerobic threshold. This is the level of exertion at which your muscles are no longer capable of burning glucose efficiently and your lactate level start to rise. In trained endurance athletes this occurs at an intensity of 85-90 percent of maximal oxygen uptake; in untrained people this can occur at 55 percent of their maximal oxygen uptake.
Before supplementation started the subjects anaerobic threshold was at 59.1 percent of their VO2max; after 30 days of supplementation this had risen to 65.1 percent.
Conclusion
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