Pomegranate Juice May Mitigate Oxidative Damage From Endurance Exercise

Néstor Vicente Salar

Dr. Vicente Salar

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Néstor Vicente Salar, PhD.
Profesor Asociado UMH/ UMH Part-time Assistant Professor
Doctor en Biología
Diplomado en Nutrición Humana y Dietética (CV00195)
Miembro del GE-NuDAFD (AEDN) 

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Nowadays, the practising of endurance sport is increasing, running being the sport chosen by many people who decide to start doing exercise. Distances and time are important factors to take in account in amateur as well as in professional runners. Among others, these factors are directly related to the risk of oxidative damage. In fact, oxidative stress has two faces: beneficial and deleterious. Helpful effects include the defence against infectious agents or the function as intracellular signaling molecules in many processes. On the other hand, high and persistent levels of oxidative stress can produce harmful effects if the antioxidant defences are overwhelmed, resulting in structural damage.

Antioxidants from diet, for example pomegranate juice, seem to control oxidative stress disorders. However, the studies about the role of pomegranate juice in oxidative stress modulation in athletes are scarce. We have demonstrated that the intake of this kind of juice during 22 days in endurance athletes is capable to modulate the structural damage in macromolecules as proteins and lipids.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Response: Results from our study suggest that in the tapering period (pre-competition) where training demands are higher, the endogenous antioxidant system could be overwhelmed. Therefore, specific components of diet, such as pomegranate juice, could help to mitigate oxidative imbalance due to the high levels of antioxidants present.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Response: It is necessary to further investigate in order to find a possible relationship with the training status by measuring the VO2max as well as the weekly or monthly workload of the athlete. On the other hand, it is important to evaluate if the addition of other exogenous antioxidants from food or supplements could affect positively or negatively the endogenous antioxidant system.

Citation:

Effects of Pomegranate Juice in Circulating Parameters, Cytokines and Oxidative Stress Markers in Endurance-Based Athletes: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Fuster-Muñoz, E. et al. Nutrition

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Néstor Vicente Salar (2015). Pomegranate Juice May Mitigate Oxidative Damage From Endurance Exercise Eminent Domains Inc

Last Updated on December 14, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD