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ACUTE EFFECTS OF CORDYCEPS MILITARIS POWDER ON SUBMAXIMAL OXYGEN COST OF CYCLING IN COLLEGIATE ROWERS.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Several authors have suggested that acute and chronic supplementation with cordyceps militaris (CM) mushroom may improve maximal endurance performance. However, limited research has examined potential acute effects of CM supplementation during submaximal exercise in competitive endurance athletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether acute administration of CM would reduce the oxygen cost of cycling at a submaximal intensity. METHODS: Using a randomized crossover design, a sample of 9 (6 men, 3 women) NCAA Division I rowers (age 20.4±1.4 y) was administered 1500 mg of either CM or a placebo of Lion’s Mane (LM) organic mushroom powder. Thirty minutes after administration of the mushroom powder, subjects cycled on a Lode electronically braked cycle ergometer at 2 submaximal intensities (170 watts in men; 150 watts in women). Oxygen cost of cycling was assessed using submaximal VO2 and RER with a Cosmed Quark CPET metabolic cart during the last minute of each 6-minute cycling stage. Group comparisons across these variables were determined using paired t-tests. RESULTS: There was a significantly reduced oxygen cost with acute CM vs. LM (23.2±1.0 vs. 24.0±0.78 ml O2•kg-1•min-1, p=0.045) supplementation. No significant differences were found for RER for CM vs. LM (0.99±0.04 vs. 0.96±0.03, p=0.60). CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with the study hypothesis, there was a significantly lower oxygen cost associated with with CM vs. LM administration suggesting a need for future investigation and study of potential mechanisms.

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