Title |
21 days of mammalian omega-3 fatty acid supplementation improves aspects of neuromuscular function and performance in male athletes compared to olive oil placebo
|
---|---|
Published in |
Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, April 2022
|
DOI | 10.1186/s12970-015-0089-4 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Evan J. H. Lewis, Peter W. Radonic, Thomas M. S. Wolever, Greg D. Wells |
Abstract |
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (N-3) are essential nutrients for human health and integral components of neural tissues. There is evidence that N-3 supplementation may benefit exercise performance, however, no study has investigated the ergogenic potential of N-3 supplementation. Our objective was to determine the effect of short-term N-3 supplementation on neuromuscular-function and physical-performance in well-trained athletes. Male athletes (n = 30), 25 years (SD 4.6), training 17 h(.)wk(-1) (SD 5) completed this randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-design study. At baseline a blood sample was collected, maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVC) with electromyography (EMG) recordings were measured, and participants underwent various performance tests including a Wingate test and 250 kJ time trial (TT) followed by repeated MVC and EMG measurement. Participants were then randomly assigned to receive N-3 (5 ml seal oil, 375 mg EPA, 230 mg DPA, 510 mg DHA) or placebo (5 ml olive oil) for 21-days after which baseline testing was repeated. The magnitude-based inference approach was used to estimate the probability that N-3 had a beneficial effect on neuromuscular-function and performance of at least ±1 %. Data are shown as mean ± 90 % confidence-interval. Plasma EPA was higher on N-3 than placebo (p = 0.004) but the increases in DPA and DHA were not significant (p = 0.087, p = 0.058). N-3 supplementation had an unclear effect on MVC force (4.1 ± 6.6 %) but increased vastus lateralis EMG by 20 ± 18 % vs placebo (very likely beneficial). N-3 supplementation reduced Wingate percent power drop by 4.76 ± 3.4 % vs placebo (very likely beneficial), but the difference in TT performance was unclear (-1.9 ± 4.8 %). Our data indicates N-3 PUFA supplementation improved peripheral neuromuscular function and aspects of fatigue with an unclear effect on central neuromuscular function. Clinical trial registration NCT0201433. |
Twitter Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 18 | 24% |
Spain | 7 | 9% |
Canada | 7 | 9% |
Italy | 1 | 1% |
Puerto Rico | 1 | 1% |
Qatar | 1 | 1% |
Ukraine | 1 | 1% |
Netherlands | 1 | 1% |
Brazil | 1 | 1% |
Other | 5 | 7% |
Unknown | 32 | 43% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 63 | 84% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 7 | 9% |
Scientists | 3 | 4% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 2 | 3% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 2 | <1% |
Portugal | 1 | <1% |
Chile | 1 | <1% |
Indonesia | 1 | <1% |
Brazil | 1 | <1% |
Spain | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 198 | 97% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Master | 40 | 20% |
Student > Bachelor | 35 | 17% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 18 | 9% |
Researcher | 16 | 8% |
Other | 12 | 6% |
Other | 50 | 24% |
Unknown | 34 | 17% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Sports and Recreations | 38 | 19% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 27 | 13% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 27 | 13% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 23 | 11% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 19 | 9% |
Other | 23 | 11% |
Unknown | 48 | 23% |