A recent study has revealed that blackcurrant extract can boost average 5K running times by an impressive 38 seconds within two hours of consumption.
In the study, by the University of Chester, trained recreational male runners and triathletes took 3x300mg capsules of CurraNZ blackcurrant extract – containing a total of 315mg of anthocyanins – two hours prior a 5km treadmill test.
The findings showed that 88% of respondents achieved faster completion times, with improvements of 38 seconds on average compared to placebo and individual responses up to 5.7%.
“We were surprised to see the differences in running times between the conditions,” comments Dr Samantha Moss, senior lecturer in Physiology and Sports Sciences at the University of Chester, who led the study. “The novelty is that [the] New Zealand blackcurrant supplement can be used as a performance-enhancing aid on an acute basis, which may suit a lot of recreational athletes preparing for a race.
“What’s great is this supplement is highly nutritious and vastly more affordable than wearing a super shoe”
“When added to a nutritious diet, race preparation could be optimized by taking one dose of three capsules of blackcurrant extract, offering athletes a simple approach to achieving meaningful performance improvements to 5km race times.”
Running expert Dr Stefanie Flippin stresses the significance of the results: “An average improvement of 38 seconds over 5km is enormous. Faster completion times over shorter distances are harder to achieve and require months – sometimes years – of training. This scale of improvement is impressive.
“What’s great is this supplement is highly nutritious and vastly more affordable than wearing a super shoe, is loaded with other benefits and accessible to the everyday runner.”
Blood flow is crucial for working muscles and athletic performance and blackcurrants are high in antioxidant-rich anthocyanins which widen blood vessels, improve arterial function and boost the blood pressure-lowering effects of exercise in recovery.
Moss adds: “Based on previous studies, we believe these changes might be due to an increase in blood flow, which can enhance lactate clearance. We measured lactate and saw slightly lower values in the blackcurrant condition, but the range of estimates were too big to say this could be one of the mechanisms responsible. Doing more work to assess the role of blackcurrant extract anthocyanin metabolite profiles might be useful for future work, considering that metabolites in similar compounds have been identified as possible drivers in altering blood flow.”
