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NewswireTODAY - /newswire/ -
Kannapolis, NC, United States, 2013/09/04 - Scientists at the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) have discovered in a human trial that exercise increases polyphenolic absorption via the colon not the small intestine into the blood stream and creates a metabolic spike for up to 14 hours.
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The study provides clear evidence of an alternate route of bioavailability and a 14-hour afterburn effect from a combination of polyphenols and exercise.
The paper, Influence of a Polyphenol-Enriched Protein Powder on Exercise-Induced Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Athletes: A Randomized Trial Using a Metabolomics Approach, was published in PlosOne on August 15, 2013. The lead author is David Nieman, DrPH, FACSM, director of the Appalachian State University (ASU) Human Performance Laboratory and co-authors are Mary Ann Lila, PhD, director of the North Carolina State University Plants for Human Health Institute (PHHI) and Nicholas Gillitt, PhD, director of nutrition research for Dole Food Company.
Polyphenols are a class of bioactive compounds in fruits and vegetables that are linked to numerous health benefits such as lowering blood pressure and blood glucose, reducing inflammation and fighting off the damaging effects of free radicals.
The study tested polyphenol supplementation as a countermeasure to inflammation and oxidative stress. Long-distance runners were given either a soy protein complex infused with polyphenols from blueberries and green tea or just the protein complex. The runners ingested the soy protein complex for two weeks and during three days of running for two-and-a-half hours each day. Each dose was the equivalent of consuming three cups of blueberries and just over a cup of brewed green tea.
One finding of the study was that the runners in the treatment group had a polyphenolic signature in their blood that was characteristic of gut microbial metabolism of berry and green tea polyphenols.
“Following intensive and prolonged running, athletes experience transient inflammation, oxidative stress and immune dysfunction,” explained Nieman. “Metabolomics, a new technology that simultaneously measures changes in hundreds of metabolites, showed that the majority of the polyphenols went to the colon where the bacteria broke them down into smaller. The intense exercise increased gut permeability, promoting the transfer of into the body in much higher amounts then before the exercise.”
The finding is relevant, Nieman added, because combining polyphenol intake with exercise not only increases gut permeability and allows more polyphenols into the body, the specific polyphenols that were found are known to have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
An equally significant finding was that the runners in the treatment group showed a longer spike in their metabolism after exercise. “Burn fat while you sleep is a great message,” emphasized Lila. “We showed that the metabolism is stimulated by exercise, but we saw fatty acid oxidation and ketogenesis with more ketones at 14 hours post exercise in the treatment group. The placebo group went back to normal levels.”
Ketogenesis is the production of biochemicals called ketones from the breakdown of fatty acids in the liver that provide energy to the body, especially the heart and brain.
Lila is one of the inventors in partnership with scientists at Rutgers University of the soy protein isolate technology used in this study. She has published previous research demonstrating the capacity of the sorption technology to concentrate polyphenols at efficacious levels. The collaborative study with ASU and Dole proved to be an important step forward in the development of the technology.
“It was the first really strong evidence of bioavailability from this product, which is great because we had a lot of animal models and cell culture but nothing in humans,” Lila said.
The findings reinforce the potential benefits of consuming fruits and vegetables before and after exercise. “It is useful to show in human clinical trials that when you eat fruits and vegetables, these compounds can flood into the system, even if it is not by the classic way everyone thought they did,” Gillitt stressed. “We have already shown the carbohydrates in bananas provide a good source of energy during exercise. This study shows the polyphenols found in fruits and vegetables could also be helpful to athletes who experience high levels of oxidative stress and inflammation.”
These NC Research Campus scientists are planning additional collaborative studies to build on their findings in order to better understand the physiological mechanisms at play and the potential applications for athletes and consumers.
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pbeaver[.]ncresearchcampus.net 
