During exercise, there is an increased demand for oxygen. Increasing blood flow may provide an ergogenic effect. Dietary nitrate supplementation, such as pomegranate extract (PE), has been linked to reduced vascular resistance, enhanced vasodilation, and increased blood flow to possibly improve exercise efficiency. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of acute PE supplementation on anaerobic exercise, flow mediated dilation (FMD), oxygen saturation (SP02), heart rate (HR), and blood pressure (BP)

Hirsch, Katie

Mock, Meredith G

Roelofs, Erica J

Smith-Ryan, Abbie

Trexler, Eric

Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition

PubMed

Erica J Roelofs

Katie R Hirsch

Eric T Trexler

Meredith G Mock

Abbie E Smith-Ryan

Springer - Publisher Connector

The effects of pomegranate extract on anaerobic exercise performance & cardiovascular responses

POSTER PRESENTATION Open Access
The effects of pomegranate extract on anaerobic
exercise performance & cardiovascular responses
Erica J Roelofs*, Katie R Hirsch, Eric T Trexler, Meredith G Mock, Abbie E Smith-Ryan
From The Twelfth International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) Conference and Expo
Austin, TX, USA. 11-13 June 2015
Background
During exercise, there is an increased demand for oxygen.
Increasing blood flow may provide an ergogenic effect.
Dietary nitrate supplementation, such as pomegranate
extract (PE), has been linked to reduced vascular resis-
tance, enhanced vasodilation, and increased blood flow to
possibly improve exercise efficiency. The purpose of this
study was to evaluate the effects of acute PE supplemen-
tation on anaerobic exercise, flow mediated dilation
(FMD), oxygen saturation (SP02), heart rate (HR), and
blood pressure (BP).
Methods
Nineteen recreationally active individuals (mean ± SD;
Age: 22.1 ± 1.9 yrs; Height: 170.4 ± 12.4 cm; Weight:
68.7 ± 15.9 kg) participated in this crossover design study.
In a double-blind fashion, participants were randomized
to either 1000 mg of PE (True Pomegranate Extract, Stiebs
Nature Elevated, Madera, CA) or placebo (PL; 95% malto-
dextrin, 5% purple carrot and hibiscus for color), ingested
in capsule form 30 min prior to a repeated sprint ability
(RSA) test. Peak and average power were identified from
the RSA on a friction-loaded cycle ergometer (Monark
894E, Stockholm, Sweden), which consisted of ten six-sec-
ond maximal sprints with a load of 65 g/kg of body weight
with 30 seconds of passive recovery. Brachial artery FMD
was assessed by ultrasound (GE logiq-e B-mode, GE
Healthcare, WI) with vascular, pulse wave, and color flow
settings to determine blood flow and vessel diameter.
FMD, HR, SPO2, and BP were assessed at baseline, 30 min
post ingestion (30minPI), immediately post exercise
(IPost), and 30 min post exercise (30minPostEx). After a
seven-day washout period, participants completed the
RSA test with the opposite treatment. Separate two-way
mixed factorial ANOVAs (treatment × time) were used to
assess peak power, average power, FMD, BP, HR, and
SPO2, with Bonferroni post hoc comparisons. Change
scores from PE to PL were calculated and 95% confidence
intervals (CI) were placed around the mean change score.
Results
Peak power was significantly higher for sprint number
5 when supplementing with PE versus PL (mean difference
[MD]= 31.81 Watts; p = 0.046) and sprint 7 trended
towards significance (MD = 35.34 Watts; p = 0.063).
When 95% CI were employed for peak power, sprints
5 and 7 were significantly higher when PE was consumed.
Confidence intervals demonstrated average power was
significantly higher for sprint 5 wth PE. Vessel diameter
was significantly greater at 30minPostEx and blood flow
was significantly higher IPost when PE was consumed.
There were no significant differences in SP02, HR, or BP.
Conclusions
Acute supplementation of PE resulted in enhanced vessel
diameter, blood flow, and repeated sprint ability halfway
through the test. Results suggest the possibility of
enhanced exercise performance due to increased delivery
of oxygen and substrates to working skeletal muscle with
the use of PE.
Practical Applications
The acute timing and capsule form of PE may be prefer-
able to the athletic population due to ergogenic effects,
taste, and convenience. Combining PE with other ergo-
genic aids may be advantageous as a pre-workout supple-
ment to further augment performance.
Published: 21 September 2015
* Correspondence: eroelofs@live.unc.edu
Applied Physiology Laboratory, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC,
USA
Roelofs et al. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2015, 12(Suppl 1):P56
http://www.jissn.com/content/12/S1/P56
© 2015 Roelofs et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the
original work is properly cited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/
zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
doi:10.1186/1550-2783-12-S1-P56
Cite this article as: Roelofs et al.: The effects of pomegranate extract on
anaerobic exercise performance & cardiovascular responses. Journal of
the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2015 12(Suppl 1):P56.
Submit your next manuscript to BioMed Central
and take full advantage of: 
• Convenient online submission
• Thorough peer review
• No space constraints or color ﬁgure charges
• Immediate publication on acceptance
• Inclusion in PubMed, CAS, Scopus and Google Scholar
• Research which is freely available for redistribution
Submit your manuscript at 
www.biomedcentral.com/submit
Roelofs et al. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2015, 12(Suppl 1):P56
http://www.jissn.com/content/12/S1/P56
Page 2 of 2


Carolina Digital Repository

POSTER PRESENTATION Open AccessThe effects of pomegranate extract on anaerobicexercise performance & cardiovascular responsesErica J Roelofs*, Katie R Hirsch, Eric T Trexler, Meredith G Mock, Abbie E Smith-RyanFrom The Twelfth International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) Conference and ExpoAustin, TX, USA. 11-13 June 2015BackgroundDuring exercise, there is an increased demand for oxygen.Increasing blood flow may provide an ergogenic effect.Dietary nitrate supplementation, such as pomegranateextract (PE), has been linked to reduced vascular resis-tance, enhanced vasodilation, and increased blood flow topossibly improve exercise efficiency. The purpose of thisstudy was to evaluate the effects of acute PE supplemen-tation on anaerobic exercise, flow mediated dilation(FMD), oxygen saturation (SP02), heart rate (HR), andblood pressure (BP).MethodsNineteen recreationally active individuals (mean ± SD;Age: 22.1 ± 1.9 yrs; Height: 170.4 ± 12.4 cm; Weight:68.7 ± 15.9 kg) participated in this crossover design study.In a double-blind fashion, participants were randomizedto either 1000 mg of PE (True Pomegranate Extract, StiebsNature Elevated, Madera, CA) or placebo (PL; 95% malto-dextrin, 5% purple carrot and hibiscus for color), ingestedin capsule form 30 min prior to a repeated sprint ability(RSA) test. Peak and average power were identified fromthe RSA on a friction-loaded cycle ergometer (Monark894E, Stockholm, Sweden), which consisted of ten six-sec-ond maximal sprints with a load of 65 g/kg of body weightwith 30 seconds of passive recovery. Brachial artery FMDwas assessed by ultrasound (GE logiq-e B-mode, GEHealthcare, WI) with vascular, pulse wave, and color flowsettings to determine blood flow and vessel diameter.FMD, HR, SPO2, and BP were assessed at baseline, 30 minpost ingestion (30minPI), immediately post exercise(IPost), and 30 min post exercise (30minPostEx). After aseven-day washout period, participants completed theRSA test with the opposite treatment. Separate two-waymixed factorial ANOVAs (treatment × time) were used toassess peak power, average power, FMD, BP, HR, andSPO2, with Bonferroni post hoc comparisons. Changescores from PE to PL were calculated and 95% confidenceintervals (CI) were placed around the mean change score.ResultsPeak power was significantly higher for sprint number5 when supplementing with PE versus PL (mean difference[MD]= 31.81 Watts; p = 0.046) and sprint 7 trendedtowards significance (MD = 35.34 Watts; p = 0.063).When 95% CI were employed for peak power, sprints5 and 7 were significantly higher when PE was consumed.Confidence intervals demonstrated average power wassignificantly higher for sprint 5 wth PE. Vessel diameterwas significantly greater at 30minPostEx and blood flowwas significantly higher IPost when PE was consumed.There were no significant differences in SP02, HR, or BP.ConclusionsAcute supplementation of PE resulted in enhanced vesseldiameter, blood flow, and repeated sprint ability halfwaythrough the test. Results suggest the possibility ofenhanced exercise performance due to increased deliveryof oxygen and substrates to working skeletal muscle withthe use of PE.Practical ApplicationsThe acute timing and capsule form of PE may be prefer-able to the athletic population due to ergogenic effects,taste, and convenience. Combining PE with other ergo-genic aids may be advantageous as a pre-workout supple-ment to further augment performance.Published: 21 September 2015* Correspondence: eroelofs@live.unc.eduApplied Physiology Laboratory, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC,USARoelofs et al. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2015, 12(Suppl 1):P56http://www.jissn.com/content/12/S1/P56© 2015 Roelofs et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided theoriginal work is properly cited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.doi:10.1186/1550-2783-12-S1-P56Cite this article as: Roelofs et al.: The effects of pomegranate extract onanaerobic exercise performance & cardiovascular responses. Journal ofthe International Society of Sports Nutrition 2015 12(Suppl 1):P56.Submit your next manuscript to BioMed Centraland take full advantage of: • Convenient online submission• Thorough peer review• No space constraints or color ﬁgure charges• Immediate publication on acceptance• Inclusion in PubMed, CAS, Scopus and Google Scholar• Research which is freely available for redistributionSubmit your manuscript at www.biomedcentral.com/submitRoelofs et al. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2015, 12(Suppl 1):P56http://www.jissn.com/content/12/S1/P56Page 2 of 2

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The effects of pomegranate extract on anaerobic exercise performance &amp; cardiovascular responses

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The effects of pomegranate extract on anaerobic exercise performance & cardiovascular responses

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