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The Effect of Sweet Orange and Pomegranate Extract Supplementation on Exercise Capacity in Middle-aged Adults

The Effect of Sweet Orange and Pomegranate Extract Supplementation on Exercise Capacity: a Randomized Controlled Parallel Intervention Study in Healthy Overweight Individuals

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05133778
Acronym
Actiful2
Enrollment
50
Registered
2021-11-24
Start date
2021-11-01
Completion date
2025-04-01
Last updated
2025-06-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Exercise Capacity

Keywords

Sweet orange, Pomegranate, Polyphenols, Exercise capacity, Ekblom-bak

Brief summary

The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of 12-week long daily administration of a sweet orange and pomegranate extract on exercise capacity in healthy adults.

Detailed description

Background of the study: Polyphenols have been studied for their protective effect against the development of ROS-related diseases like cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, osteoporosis, and neurodegenerative diseases. The combined supplementation of pomegranate and sweet orange polyphenols could be an effective strategy to improve exercise performance, due to their antioxidant character and ability to stimulate NO production, to stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis and to accelerate muscle repair and decrease muscle tissue damage. The study aims to assess the effect of a combined supplementation of pomegranate and sweet orange extract on exercise capacity, physical activity, muscle strength and quality of life in healthy adults. Objective of the study: The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of 12-week long daily administration of a sweet orange and pomegranate extract on exercise capacity in healthy adults (40 - 65 y). Study design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel trial Study population: Healthy, overweight, sedentary adults between 40 and 65 years old. Intervention: 12-week supplementation with 650 mg sweet orange and pomegranate extract (2 capsules per day) compared to placebo (760 mg maltodextrin). Primary outcome of the study: Change in aerobic capacity (VO2max), assessed with an Ekblom-Bak submaximal cycling test. Secondary study parameters/outcome of the study: * Daily physical activity as determined by accelerometer * Dietary intake as measured by a 3-day food record * Handgrip strength * Muscle cell proliferation and differentiation and mitochondrial biogenesis assessed in skeletal muscle biopsies * Quality of Life as measured by the WHO-QOL-100 questionnaire * General health as measured by SF-36 questionnaire * Vitality as measured by the Dutch Vitality Questionnaire (Vita-16) * Cardiometabolic health biomarkers, cortisol, C-reactive protein determined with ELISA * Antioxidative capacity measured with a Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTSweet orange and pomegranate extract

From the daily 650mg total supplementation of the investigational product, 250 mg will be of pomegranate extract containing 100mg of punicalagin. The remaining 400 mg will consist of sweet orange peel extract containing 360 mg of hesperidin.

OTHERMaltodextrin control

Supplementation with 760 mg maltodextrin

Sponsors

BioActor B.V.
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
Maastricht University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Intervention model description

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel trial

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
40 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Healthy male/female (based on medical history provided during a general health questionnaire) * Age between 40 - 65 yrs * Overweight (BMI ≥25 to ≤29.9 kg/m2) * Sedentary subjects (Low Level \[\<600 MET-minutes/week\] as assessed by the Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ))

Exclusion criteria

* Allergy to test product/control or citrus fruits and pomegranate * Medical conditions that might interfere with endpoints or compromise participant safety during testing (e.g. Cardiovascular diseases, cancer, Parkinson's disease, Gastrointestinal diseases or abdominal surgery) to be decided by the principal investigator * Use of medication that might interfere with endpoints (i.e.: β-blockers, antioxidant, antidepressants) * High fasting blood glucose (FBG ≥100 mg/dL) * Recent skeletal muscle injury in less than one month before the start of the study * Use of antibiotics within 3 months prior to Visit 2 * Use of probiotics or supplements containing vitamins, minerals or antioxidants four weeks prior to Visit 2 * Regular smoking (including use of e-cigarettes) * Inability to correctly perform the PA test during screening/familiarization * Abuse of alcohol (alcohol consumption \>20 units/week) and/or drugs * Plans to change diet or medication for the duration of the study * Treatment with an investigational drug (phase 1-3) 180 days before the start of the study * Inability to understand study information and/or communicate with staff

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in endurance capacity12 weeksAn Ekblom-bak cycling test is used to estimate the maximal oxygen consumption

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Handgrip strength12 weeksMeasured with a dynamometer
Change in Self reported quality of life12 weeksMeasured with the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHO-QOL-100) questionnaire. For 6 domains (including physical, psychological, level of independence, social relationships, environment and religion/personal beliefs), a score will be calculated between 2 - 40 in which a higher score indicates better quality of life.
Change in General health12 weeksMeasured with the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey. For 4 domains (including functional status, wellbeing, general health and change in health), a score will be calculated between 0 - 100 in which a higher score indicates better health.
Change in Vitality12 weeksMeasured with the vita-16 questionnaire. For 4 domains (including energy, motivation, resilience and overall vitality), a score will be calculated between 1 - 7 in which a higher score indicates higher vitality.
Change in Glucose levels12 weeksMeasured in blood samples
Change in Cholesterol levels12 weeksMeasured in blood samples
Change in Triglyceride levels12 weeksMeasured in blood samples
Change in Insulin levels12 weeksMeasured in blood samples
Change in Cortisol levels12 weeksMeasured in blood samples
Change in C-reactive protein levels12 weeksMeasured in blood samples
Change in Daily physical activity12 weeksMeasured with an accelerometer
Change in Cell elongation index12 weeksMeasured with immunohistochemistry in muscle tissue samples
Change in Muscle proliferation (marker Pax7)12 weeksMeasured with qPCR in muscle tissue samples
Change in Muscle differentiation (marker MyoD)12 weeksMeasured with qPCR in muscle tissue samples
Change in Muscle differentiation (marker Myogenin)12 weeksMeasured with qPCR in muscle tissue samples
Change in Muscle differentiation (marker Myosin Heavy Chain)12 weeksMeasured with qPCR in muscle tissue samples
Change in Muscle mitochondrial biogenesis (marker PGC1alpha)12 weeksMeasured with qPCR in muscle tissue samples
Change in Muscle metabolism (marker Glut4)12 weeksMeasured with qPCR in muscle tissue samples
Change in Muscle redox biology (marker GCLC)12 weeksMeasured with qPCR in muscle tissue samples
Change in Muscle redox biology (marker Hmox1)12 weeksMeasured with qPCR in muscle tissue samples
Change in Antioxidative capacity12 weeksMeasured with a TEAC assay in blood

Countries

Netherlands

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026