The Effect of Salvia Extract Supplementation on Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, Muscle Injury, and Pain Following Exhaustive an Eccentric Exercise in non-Athlete Women

Delayed onset muscle soreness is one of the problems in people starting exercise and researchers are looking for ways to reduce it. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of a period of salvia extract supplementation on the indicators of delayed onset muscle soreness following exhaustive eccentric exercise in non-athlete women.

20 non-athlete women aged 20 to 30 years were randomly divided into two groups of placebo and salvia extract. On the pre-test day, both groups participated in an exhaustive eccentric activity. Then, for two weeks, the supplement group received salvia extract, and the placebo group received flour powder (200 mg/kg daily with similar capsules). After two weeks, both groups participated in the same physical activity similar to the pre-test (post-test). Blood samples were taken before and 24 hours after both activities and muscle pain were measured. CK, LDH, GPX, SOD, MDA, TNF-α, IL-1β, CRP, and lactate levels were measured for each blood sample. To examine the changes in the variables, an analysis of variance mixed with repeated measures and an independent t-test at the level of P≤0.05 were used.

The results showed that muscle pain and levels of CK, LDH, GPX, MDA, TNF-α, IL-1β, CRP, and lactate increased significantly after eccentric exhaustion activity, but their increase was significantly lower in the salvia extract group than in the placebo group (P=0.036, P=0.043, P=0.009, P=0.001, P=0.006, P=0.002, P=0.007, P=0.005, and P=0.011, respectively).

Short-term salvia extract supplementation may reduce the rate of increase in delayed onset muscle soreness following an exhaustive eccentric exercise due to flavonoids and phenolic compounds.