Kumiko Kuwaba, Masashi Kusubata, Yuki Taga, Hiroshi Igarashi, Koichi Nakazato, Kazunori Mizuno
Journal: Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2023;20(1):2206392
PMID: 37133292
Muscle soreness following exercise can negatively impact performance and recovery, especially in individuals not accustomed to regular physical activity. This study explores the potential benefits of dietary collagen peptides (CPs) in reducing muscle soreness and fatigue after exercise. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of CPs on post-exercise physical condition and fitness in healthy middle-aged males who are not regularly engaged in exercise routines. This study was a randomised, double-blind, crossover study and participants were randomly assigned to two prior test food groups on a 1:1 basis. It included 20 middle-aged males (average age 52.6 years), who received either 10 grams of CPs or a placebo daily for 33 days. Results showed that the group receiving CPs had significantly lower muscle soreness and fatigue immediately after exercise. Additionally, muscle strength was higher in the CP group 48 hours post-exercise. There were no significant changes in creatine phosphokinase (CPK) levels, and a slight but non-significant increase in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels was observed. Authors concluded that dietary CPs can alleviate muscle soreness and fatigue and positively affect muscle strength after exercise in healthy middle-aged males. Thus, they suggest that CPs could be a beneficial supplement for enhancing recovery in this demographic.
BACKGROUND
Post-exercise muscle soreness and fatigue can negatively affect exercise performance. Thus, it is desirable to attenuate muscle soreness and fatigue and promote recovery even for daily exercise habits aimed at maintaining or improving health.
METHODS
This study investigated the effects of dietary collagen peptides (CPs) on post-exercise physical condition and fitness in healthy middle-aged adults unfamiliar with exercise. Middle-aged males ( = 20, 52.6 ± 5.8 years) received the active food (10 g of CPs per day) or the placebo food for 33 days in each period of the randomized crossover trial (registered at the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry with UMIN-CTR ID of UMIN000041441). On the 29th day, participants performed a maximum of five sets of 40 bodyweight squats. Muscle soreness as the primary outcome, fatigue, the maximum knee extension force during isometric muscle contraction of both legs, the range of motion (ROM), and the blood level of creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were assessed before and after the exercise load.
RESULTS
The analysis set was the per-protocol set ( = 18, 52.6 ± 6.0 years) for efficacy and the full analysis set ( = 19, 52.8 ± 5.9 years) for safety. The visual analog scale (VAS) of muscle soreness immediately after the exercise load was significantly lower in the active group than in the placebo group (32.0 ± 25.0 mm versus 45.8 ± 27.6 mm, < 0.001). The VAS of fatigue immediately after the exercise load was also significantly lower in the active group than in the placebo group (47.3 ± 25.0 mm versus 59.0 ± 22.3 mm, < 0.001). Two days (48 hours) afterthe exercise load, muscle strength was significantly higher in the active group than in the placebo group (85.2 ± 27.8 kg versus 80.5 ± 25.3 kg, = 0.035). The level of CPK did not change over time. The level of LDH increased slightly but was not different between the groups. No safety-related issues were observed.
CONCLUSIONS
These results showed that dietary CPs alleviated muscle soreness and fatigue and affected muscle strength after exercise load in healthy middle-aged males.
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