Chlorella Intake Further Enhances Anaerobic And Aerobic Capacities Increased By High Intensity Intermittent Training

Abstract

High intensity intermittent training (HIIT) enhances anaerobic and aerobic capacities. Our recent study have demonstrated in animal study that the 6-week combination of chlorella intake and HIIT further elevated glycolytic and oxidative phosphorylation as ATP supply in skeletal muscle as compared with chlorella alone and HIIT alone, resulting in enhancement of anaerobic and aerobic exercise capacities. However, the combined effects of chlorella intake and HIIT on anaerobic and aerobic capacities in human remain unclear. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the combination of chlorella intake and HIIT further enhanced anaerobic and aerobic capacities as compared with HIIT alone in human. METHODS: Twelve healthy young male subjects (21 ± 1 years) were participated in this study. Subjects completed 3-week of exhaustive HIIT, consisting of 6-7 bouts of 20-second cycling on a leg ergometer at an intensity of 170% maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) with a 10-second rest between each bout, 3 days/week. They orally took chlorella or placebo (10 tablets) after the breakfast and dinner between the 3-week in a double-blind, randomized, crossover design with 4 weeks between each intervention. We measured VO2max as an indicator of aerobic capacity and maximal oxygen deficit (MOD) as an indicator of anaerobic capacity. RESULTS: After each HIIT intervention, VO2max was significantly increased in both chlorella and placebo groups (P<0.05). However, the amount of change in VO2max after the intervention was significantly higher in chlorella intake than placebo intake (P<0.05). After each HIIT intervention, MOD was significantly increased in both chlorella and placebo groups (P<0.05). However, the amount of change in MOD after the intervention was significantly higher in chlorella intake than placebo intake (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the combination of chlorella intake and HIIT may further enhance anaerobic and aerobic capacities in human. Supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (#17H02183, #16K13059, M. Iemitsu)