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Study examines plant extract’s effect on cyclists |
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Thursday, 15 November 2007 |
 Michael J. Trivette (r), a graduate and educational media major, participates in a study between Appalachian State University and Quercegen Pharma, LLC. The study is looking at the effects of two supplements and how they might prevent the immunosuppressive effects of physical exertion. Photo by Holt Menzies
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by NICK IANNIELLO
News Reporter
Stationary bikes, Appalachian State University cyclists and plant supplements are the key ingredients in the Appalachian State University Human Performance Lab’s newest study.
Thanks to a grant from Quercegen Pharma, Appalachian’s Human Performance Lab will continue its study on the effects of Quercetin, a plant extract, on 40 training cyclists.
This study is an extension of a previous study, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.
“[Quercetin] can increase your protection from getting sick. It can
decrease your oxidative stress, which is sometimes the result of
exercise, and it may even mimic exercise, acting almost like exercise
in a pill form,” exercise physiology professor and researcher Charles
Dumke said.
Cyclists participating in the double blind study, many of whom are part
of the Appalachian cycling team, will receive a stipend for their time
and effort.
“[The cyclists] need to be fit enough to ride three hours on an indoor trainer at a fairly high workload,” Dumke said.
Cyclists are particularly useful for this study because of the way cycling can be measured.
“There’s a lot of different metabolic measurements you can do while
cycling, compared to running, just because cyclists are on a trainer in
the lab and not moving as much so we can take blood, we can take muscle
biopsies and we can get metabolic measurements,” Dumke said.
The study will involve taking blood and muscle biopsy samples from the
cyclists to study the effects of Quercetin. Participants take two
supplements a day for the two weeks before the study begins.
“We’re going to follow changes in their immune system,” Dumke said.
Participants in the study must participate in a nearly three-hour ride for three days in a row.
After the ride, they complete a time trial to further measure the
effects of the supplement. The riders will ride 5K on the first day, a
10K on the second, and a 20K on the third at the end of their
three-hour ride.
“By the time the test is over, you’re completely wiped out,”
Appalachian cycling team president David Forkner said. “The idea of the
experiment is to completely exhaust you.”
This is the fifth study Forkner has participated in with the Human Performance Lab.
The results of the study will come in slowly, since some of the tests
will take a long time to complete. However, Dumke said many of the
results will be in by the end of the semester.
This is the first study done by the Appalachian Human Performance Lab that will look at both men and women.
The Appalachian Human Performance Lab has done several studies on
cyclists, largely because of their availability and abundance in Boone.
“In Boone, there is an active cycling community, so we’ve got a good resource of cyclists,” Dumke said.
While some participants come from the Boone community through local
bike shops, many of them are members of Appalachian’s cycling team.
“We have a lot of members from the ASU cycling club who have been great about volunteering for our studies,” Dumke said.
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