The Learning Blog

Remember the first Spiderman movie when the character played by actor Willem Dafoe was experimenting a gaseous chemical that can enhance endurance and strength? Well, that storyline may be partially true if the study by researchers from the  University of South Carolina would have us to believe. The study is published in the August 2009 issue of the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.

They used a purified compound called quercetin found in plants like apples (440 mg/kg), tea (Camellia sinensis), red onions (of which higher amounts are found in the outer rings), red grapes, green leafy vegetables, and many others.

The researchers gave 12 active and healthy college students a purified form of quercetin (QU-995). They were not involved in any regular aerobic training regimen and were told not to change their physical activities. Each participant were given 500 mg mixed with Tang twice a day for one week and then a placebo (also with Tang) for the next week, or vice-versa.

At the end of the week, the participants had their maximal aerobic capacity (for fitness) and time-to-fatigue on a stationary bike (for endurance) measured.

The researchers found that when compared with placebo, there was an increase in the maximal aerobic capacity by 3.9%, which they said was roughly comparable to that gained by runners training in high altitude. Also an increase of 13.2% in the time-to-fatigue measurement in a 75% maximal aerobic capacity situation.

According to Dr. J. Mark Davis who leads the research group and professor of exercise science :

If you translate that into some sort of a race situation, that’s almost always going to be the difference between almost first and last place. That’s a big difference.

He also said,

The natural, biological properties of quercetin that include powerful antioxidant and anti-imflammatory activity, as well as the ability to boost the immune system and increase mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell) in muscle and brain is great news for those who often think that they’re too tired to exercise

While there’s no magic pill to make people get up and move, or to take the place of regular exercise, quercetin may be important in relieving the fatigue that keeps them sedentary and in providing some of the benefits of exercise. We believe that this could be a major breakthrough in nutrition.

Dr. Davis hypothesized that the benefits found with quercetin use could may be due to increased production of mitochondria. The mitochondria is an essential structure found in all cells which generates energy for the cell’s use. Unfortunately, there are no studies yet that could confirm this. However, if this was true, it will also have implications in other conditions that features mitochondrial dysfunction such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

Limitations of the study:

• A small number of subject participated in the study.
• This study was not done to determine the mechanism behind the exercise benefits.

Interestingly, like Spiderman, the study was partly funded by the United States Department of Defense.

Some useful info:

Quercetin is a plant-derived flavonoid used as a nutritional supplement.

Non-human studies found it as being anti-inflammatory, anti-histaminic, antioxidant, and antitumor. Additionally, a lab study of mice found that a dose of 12.5 to 25 mg/kg of quercetin can increase endurance.

Quercetin should NOT be used with fluoroquinolones (ofloxacin, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, among others) due to its competitive binding to the bacterial DNA gyrase. It also has the potential to increase the level of drugs in the blood due to its inhibitory effect on the liver enzymes that normally break down those.

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