MILAN—New research shows Meriva, a proprietary lecithin-based and diet-inspired delivery system of curcumin, can attenuate muscle soreness from oxidative stress and inflammation associated with continuous exercise, such as downhill running. (Journal of the International society of Sports Nutrition. 2014 11:31. doi: 10.1186/1550-2783-11-31)
MRI testing found that supplementation with Meriva reduced muscle distress in the posterior or medial compartment of the thighs and was associated with less discomfort in the lower limb and a blunted systemic inflammatory response when compared to a placebo. The hallmark of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is delayed muscular discomfort and stiffness after unaccustomed or strenuous exercise, with soreness being felt most strongly 24 to 72 hours after the exercise.
This randomized, placebo-controlled, single-blinded clinical study is the first one to investigate the effects of Meriva on DOMS, and it involved 20 male, healthy and moderately active volunteers, who were randomized and given one gram of Meriva twice daily (200 mg curcumin b.i.d.), or a matching placebo.
Participants took the supplement 48 hours before a downhill running test and continued for 24 hours after the test (four days in total). Muscle soreness was quantified by MRI, laboratory tests and histologic analyses on muscle samples obtained 48 hours after the test. Volunteer-reported discomfort intensity was also recorded. Participants were asked to indicate the site of pain on a drawing representing the lower limbs, and to rank pain intensity on a 0- to4-point scale, where 0 meant no pain and 4 meant disabling pain when descending or climbing stairs.
The observation from the study suggests that curcumin as Meriva may be beneficial to attenuate exercise-induced DOMS, and larger studies could provide statistical significance for parameters such as the histological evaluation of muscle that only showed a trend to improvement in this study.
Meriva is a patented delivery form of curcumin utilizing Indena proprietary Phytosome technology, for healthy inflammatory response and joint health. Pharmacokinetic comparison studies have shown Meriva to improve bioavailability of curcuminoids by about 30-fold, and also show significant absorption benefits.
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