None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
There is strong interest in the use of naturally occurring supplements to promote immune competence and prevent illness in daily living, as well as in response to periods of increased stress, including intensified physical activity. In a pilot study we observed substantial increases in faecal lysozyme concentrations in high performance athletes following 7 days of seven days of supplementation with Fucoidan (Fucus vesiculosus / Undaria pinnatifida extract, 1 g/day). We now wish to extend this study to investigate a longer period of intensified training. We propose to recruit a small group of recreationally active individuals to undertake two three-week training intervention of repeated sprint intervals with a cross-over design. Supervised training will involve 45 min of interval cycling at pre-determined workloads corresponding to a proportion of VO2max and a series of short repeated 6 sec sprints. We have already developed and validated this repeated-sprint training study for use with recreationally active individuals. Hypothesis: To determine whether daily Fucoidan supplementation is able to positively modulate immune biomarkers during a period of intensified exercise training in healthy recreationally active adults.
Interventions
Daily Fucoidan supplementation for 3 weeks (3 weeks washout period between phases). One capsule, twice daily in the morning and evening. The supplement composition is as follows: Undaria pinnatifida and Fucus vesiculosus extracts (Marinova, Tasmania, Australia) containing 75.5% fucoidan. Fuicodan or placebo supplementation will commence on the day of the first sprint trial of each block (session 1, day 1) and cease the day of the last trial (session 9, day ~19).
Dosage: 500mg
Route of administ
Daily Fucoidan supplementation for 3 weeks (3 weeks washout period between phases). One capsule, twice daily in the morning and evening. The supplement composition is as follows: Undaria pinnatifida and Fucus vesiculosus extracts (Marinova, Tasmania, Australia) containing 75.5% fucoidan. Fuicodan or placebo supplementation will commence on the day of the first sprint trial of each block (session 1, day 1) and cease the day of the last trial (session 9, day ~19). Dosage: 500mg Route of administration: Oral Strategies used to monitor adherence to the intervention: Return of capsule bottle at the end of the 3-week supplementation phase and a checklist at each testing session will be completed to ensure participants have taken the supplement each day. Supervision: Lead researcher, two research assistants, and two undergraduate student helpers. All supervisors of the sessions have accreditation with ESSA, first aid, and CPR qualification and have completed the relevant lab inductions. Mode of administration: Participants will complete the testing sessions in groups of five maximum (3 groups each testing day) together. The VO2 testing will be completed individually with supervision by two research assistants in a sports laboratory. The intensity of testing: participants will be told to complete the 6-second sprints at maximal intensity (RPE 17-20) Session frequency: Sessions are 3 times per week for 3 weeks (9 sessions in total) for each supplementation phase block. The sessions will take ~45 minutes for completion including a warm-up and the repeated sprint protocol. Total duration of the program: 2 x 3-week blocks (6 weeks of exercise in total) Program adherence monitoring: Attendance will be monitored for all sessions via a checklist completed upon participant arrival at the sessions. Fitness Test (VO2): All participants will undertake an initial cycle-based VO2max test in the physiology laboratory at the University of Canberra to volitional exhaustion upon recruitment to the study. Results from the VO2max test will be used to determine workload intensities to employ during supervised training sessions. Repeated Sprint Protocol: The repeated-sprint training protocol will consist of four sets of 5 × 6-s maximal (i.e., all-out and standing) cycling sprints separated by 24 s of passive recovery and 5 min of seated rest between sets (total time 30 min). The sprints will be conducted on the Wattbike ergometer at air and magnetic resistances of 10 and 3, respectively. A countdown to start and finish each sprint will be provided, as well as strong verbal encouragement.
Sponsors
University of Canberra
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Crossover
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
Male
Age
18 Years to 45 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Be male; Be aged between 18-45 years; Have a 12 month history of regular physical activity of a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per day, or the equivalent of 3.5 hours per week;
Exclusion criteria
Have no history of gastrointestinal disease (IBD, IBS etc), asthma, diabetes, renal disease, cardiovascular disease, arthritis or use immune-modulating medications
Outcome results
None listed