Pomegranate Ellagitannins Support Sports Recovery

AUSTIN, TexasEllagitannins from pomegranate may support recovery from exercise, attenuating muscle soreness and damage, according to a new study (Med Sci Sports Exercise. 2010;42(3):493-98. DOI: 10.1249/MSS.ob013e3181b64edd). Researchers from the University of Texas, Austin, conducted the placebo controlled, double-blind crossover study examining whether a daily dose of pomegranate extract (from Wonderful variety, POMx) could improve recovery of skeletal muscle strength. A total of 16 healthy, recreationally active males were treated with POMx and a placebo for nine days each, with treatments separated by a 14-day washout period. On the fifth day of each nine-day treatment, the participants performed two sets of 20 maximal eccentric elbow flexion exercises. Researchers measured elbow flexion strength and muscle soreness as well as serum levels of creatine, kinase, myoglobin, interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein at baseline and two, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours after exercise.

Strength was reduced by approximately 28 percent with both treatments at the two hour mark; recovery of strength was incomplete in both groups after 96 hours. However, strength was significantly higher when subjects took POMx at 48 and 72 hours; serum markers of inflammation and muscle damage did not reveal possible mechanisms. The authors concluded supplementation with pomegranate extract ellagitannins significantly improved strength recovery in the 48 to 72 hour period.

POM Wonderful, a producer of pomegranate juice from the Wonderful variety of pomegranate, issued a release on the study, which included a comment from the lead researcher, Ed Coyle, Ph.D., FACSM. Coyle stated, Our clinical research shows that Wonderful variety pomegranates aid in muscle recovery. Faster strengthening and reduced muscle soreness could help people with their training.