Examination of Curcumin and Fenugreek Soluble Fiber Supplementation on Submaximal and Maximal Aerobic Performance Indices

UNLABELLED: This study examined the effects of curcumin and fenugreek soluble fiber supplementation on the ventilatory threshold (VT) and peak oxygen consumption ( V ˙ O2 peak).

METHODS: Forty-five untrained men and women were randomly assigned to one of three supplementation groups: placebo (PLA, n = 13), 500 mg·day-1 CurQfen® (CUR, n = 14), or 300 mg·day-1 fenugreek soluble fiber (FEN, n = 18). Participants completed a maximal graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer to determine the VT and V ˙ O2 peak before (PRE) and after (POST) 28 days of daily supplementation. Separate, one-way analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) were used to examine the between-group differences for adjusted POST VT and V ˙ O2 peak values, covaried for the respective PRE-test values.

RESULTS: The adjusted POST VT V ˙ O2 values for the CUR (mean ± SD = 1.593 ± 0.157 L·min-1) and FEN (1.597 ± 0.157 L·min-1) groups were greater than (p = 0.039 and p = 0.025, respectively) the PLA (1.465 ± 0.155 L·min-1) group, but the FEN and CUR groups were not different (p = 0.943). There were no differences in the adjusted V ˙ O2 peak values (F = 0.613, p = 0.547) among groups.

CONCLUSION: These findings indicated that fenugreek soluble fiber was responsible for the improvements in the submaximal performance index for both CUR and FEN groups.