The Effect of Menstrual Cycle Phase and Protein Dose on Muscle Protein Synthesis

The Effect of Menstrual Cycle Phase and Protein Dose on Muscle Protein Synthesis in Response to Exercise in Young Females

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT05178732

Enrollment

Registered

2022-01-05

Start date

2022-01-16

Completion date

2023-03-31

Last updated

2024-07-24

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

Conditions

Muscle Protein Synthesis

Brief summary

Adaptation to resistance exercise requires maximal rates of muscle protein synthesis, which can be achieved with post-exercise ingestion of \ 20g of protein. These recommendations are based on studies in males and responses in females may vary. Muscle recovery is related to the ability to build new muscle protein from amino acids (muscle protein synthesis). This response is thought to be impacted in females by hormones that fluctuate across different phases of the menstrual cycle. However, the effect of menstrual cycle phase on muscle protein synthesis is not known.

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTDose of protein

One of three protein doses provided

OTHERMenstrual cycle phase

Different phase of the menstrual cycle

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

FEMALE

Age

18 Years to 40 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* BMI between 18 and 30 * Recreationally active * Regular menstrual cycle

Exclusion criteria

* Smoking * Metabolic disease * Any motor disorder * Use of over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, during the study. * Pomegranate, milk or lidocaine allergy * Taken contraceptives in the past 3 months * Irregular menstrual cycle (less than 9 cycles per year and a length not between 21-35 days) * Post-menopausal women * Pregnancy and lactation

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Muscle protein synthesis	7.5 hours	The rate of synthesis of new muscle protein

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Serum insulin concentrations	7.5 hours	Basal and postprandial concentrations of serum insulin
Blood flow	7.5 hours	Basal and postprandial blood flow using ultrasound
Plasma amino acid kinetics	7.5 hours	The appearance of amino acids in the circulation.
Gene expression	7.5 hours	Gene expression of muscle samples using RNA extraction
Blood glucose	7.5 hours	Basal and postprandial concentrations of blood glucose
Sex hormone concentrations	5 minutes	Serum oestrogen and progesterone

Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

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