Effect of one and five-day curcumin consumption on muscle damage indices after an eccentric exercise session in untrained young men

Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is the pain and stiffness felt in muscles several hours-to-days after unaccustomed or strenuous exercise. It is thought to be caused by eccentric exercise, which causes small-scale damage (micro trauma) to the muscle fibers. The aim of the current study was to determine the effect of one and five-day curcumin consumption on muscle damage indices after an eccentric exercise session in untrained young men. In this quasi-experimental study, 45 non-trained young men (Age; 21.5±2.4, weight; 73.6±4.2 and BMI; 23.5±1.5) were randomly divided into three groups: (One-day supplement group, five-day supplement group, and placebo group). One-day and five-day supplement groups consumed 1000 mg and 5000 mg of curcumin, respectively, and the placebo group consumed 5000 mg of maltodextrin. The last supplement was taken 8 hours before the eccentric exercise. Measurements were taken before the resistance exercise and, 24, 48, and 72 hours after, and included serum creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), measured using photometric methods, and muscle pain, measured using the PAS (pain assessment scale)., The resistance exercise included knee flexion with 70% of 1RM. In the five-day supplement group, there was a significant decrease in CK, LDH and muscle pain at all times, compared with the placebo and one-day supplement groups (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the one-day supplement group and the placebo group in measured parameters. According to the results of this study, it seems a daily consumption of 1,000 mg of curcumin supplement for five days may reduce some of the muscle damage indicators, as well as pain sensation, after an eccentric resistance exercise.