Dr. Qibin Zhang (Center for Translational Biomedical Research) received new funding from Appalachian State University for the project “Influence of almond supplementation on energy, performance, and inflammation resolution from exercise-induced muscle damage.”
This will be the first study to determine if 4 weeks ingestion of nutrient-dense almonds improves feelings of energy and vitality, and mitigates post-exercise inflammation (plasma cytokine and oxylipin levels), muscle soreness, and muscle damage.
An acute 90-minute bout of eccentric exercise will be used to induce muscle damage and inflammation in a group of 60 relatively untrained male and female adults (ages 30-65 years). Using a randomized, parallel group design, almond supplementation (57 g/d) for a 4-week period prior to the eccentric exercise challenge will be investigated as a countermeasure strategy to exercise-induced muscle damage and inflammation. The control group will ingest a calorie-matched common snack (cereal bars).
To improve the potential for capturing an intervention effect, advanced mass spectrometry procedures will be utilized to measure changes in 70 different oxylipins and lipid mediators that are involved in regulating inflammation. C-reactive protein (CRP), six inflammatory cytokines, and muscle damage biomarkers will also be measured. Blood samples (7 total) will be collected before and after the 4-week supplementation period, and then daily during 5 days of recovery from the eccentric exercise bout.
The Profile of Mood States (POMS) will be used to measure mood state and specific domains including vigor or activity, and fatigue or inertia. Exercise performance will be measured each time a blood sample is collected using a comprehensive battery that includes vertical jump, leg/back muscle strength, bench press muscle endurance, and anaerobic power (30 second Wingate test).
