Effects of Short‑Term Green Tea Extract Supplementation on VO2 Max and Inflammatory and Antioxidant Responses of Healthy Young Men in a Hot Environment

Nowadays, the use of green tea supplements has increased. Studies have shown that green tea can have positive effects on anti‑inflammatory and antioxidative factors, as well as improve aerobic performance capacity. Therefore, in this study, we investigate the effects of this supplement on inflammatory factors, total antioxidant capacity responses, and maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 Max) of healthy young men in summer.

This study is a double‑blind randomized controlled trial (RCT) in which 15 young men (age 25.06 ± 2.1) were randomly assigned into the green tea (GT) and placebo groups. Subjects performed maximum aerobic exercises (shuttle run 20 m) in separate workouts (14 days) in summer. They consumed 640 mg green tea extracts or maltodextrin 90 min before exercise in a double‑blind design. Blood samples were collected before and after the exercise and then evaluated in the biochemistry laboratory. In this study, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were used for the statistical analysis.

The results of this study show that green tea supplement significantly slowed down the increasing tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‑α) (GT: 15.03 ± 4.31 [pg/ml], placebo: 31.38 ± 7.18 [pg/ml], [P = 0.000]); increased the total antioxidant capacity (GT: 1.04 ± 0.06 [mm], placebo group: 0.72 ± 0.04 [mm], [P = 0.001 VO2 ]); and Max (GT: 44.43 ± 3.06 [ml/kg/min], placebo group: 34.88 ± 1.30 [ml/kg/min], [P = 0.001]) in the supplement group than placebo. In addition, no significant differences in interleukin 1 beta (IL‑1β) was observed between thee groups (GT: 26.86 ± 5.05 [pg/ml], placebo group: 23.47 ± 3.16 [pg/ml], [P = 0.251]).

The consumption of green tea supplements 90 min before aerobic exercise may decrease inflammation and oxidative stress factors and improve VO2 Max in summer.