Blackcurrant Anthocyanin Supplementation Alters Exercise-Induced Substrate Utilization - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Blackcurrant extract supplementation significantly increases fat oxidation during exercise.

• Meta-analysis demonstrated a mean difference of 0.042 g·min-1 increase in fat oxidation (P < 0.001)
• Analysis used a random-effects meta-analysis model on mean differences between control/placebo and blackcurrant extract conditions
• 15 studies with 226 participants were included after full-text screening
• All forms, doses, and supplementation durations of blackcurrant extract were eligible for inclusion

Blackcurrant extract supplementation significantly decreases carbohydrate oxidation during exercise.

• Meta-analysis demonstrated a mean difference of -0.099 g·min-1 decrease in carbohydrate oxidation (P = 0.012)
• This finding was derived from the same 15 studies and 226 participants included in the fat oxidation analysis
• Outcomes were required to be reported as absolute rates of substrate utilisation during exercise

The systematic review identified 15 eligible controlled trials from an initial search yield of 263 articles.

• Electronic searches were conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost between 1st May and 14th November 2025
• Studies included physically active adults aged 18-65 years
• 263 articles were returned from searches, with 15 studies included after full-text screening
• Total participant pool across included studies was 226
• Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane RoB 2 tool by two independent authors

The effect of blackcurrant supplementation on exercise substrate utilization is not consistent across all individuals.

• Factors identified as potentially determining individual responses include training status, sex, dosage, and duration of intake
• Previous research examining supplementation dose, duration, and exercise modality had yielded mixed findings
• The review was pre-registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251030222) on 28th April 2025