Effects of Acute Tart Cherry Juice Intake on Recovery after Intermittent Exercise in Elite Female Field Hockey Players

Abstract

PURPOSE This study aimed to examine the effect of acute tart cherry juice intake on recovery after intermittent exercise in female field hockey athletes. METHODS Sixteen university female field hockey athletes were studied for a total of 3 days. The cohort was divided into 2 groups, placebo group (n=8, PLA) and the tart cherry juice group (n=8, TCJ), Each supplement was consumed 5 times over 48 hours. On the first day of the study, venous blood was collected before the test, and physical fitness variables (20m sprint, 5-0-5 agility, and Countermovement jump) were performed twice before and after the Yo-Yo Intermediate recovery test 1 to determine the degree of muscle damage and recovery of physical fitness factors. After all tests on Day 1, supplements (PLA, TCJ) were taken. After 24 hours, venous blood collection was performed, and after 48 hours, venous blood collection and physical element variables were measured to verify the effectiveness of tart cherry juice. RESULTS In the TCJ group, a significant effect was found over time in the 5-0-5 ability among the fitness variable items (p<.001) In Countermovement jump (CMJ), there was a significant effect over group and time (p<.001). Second, significant effects over group and time were shown in Interlukin-6 (IL-6) among variable items related to muscle damage and inflammation through venous blood collection (p<.05) and LDH (p<.001), and CK (p<.01) showed a tendency to decrease with time. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study suggest that acute tart cherry juice intake after intermittent exercise tends to reduce muscle damage and inflammation-related variables in female field hockey players, which could help them recover quickly, especially after hectic game schedules.

Keywords

• elite field hockey
• intermittent exercise
• tart cherry juice
• recovery
• performance