Impact of Powdered Tart Cherry Supplementation on Performance Recovery Following Repeated Sprint Exercise.

Tart cherry supplementation produced no significant group × time differences compared to placebo for any measured outcome.

• No significant group × time differences were observed for jump height (PLA: -6.7 ± 10.4% vs. TC: -11.0 ± 17.9%, p = 0.608), peak propulsive force (PLA: 0.3 ± 4.6% vs. TC: 2.2 ± 7.4%, p = 0.194), or knee extension peak torque at 180°/s (PLA: 10.5 ± 73.5% vs. TC: -1.04 ± 49.6%, p = 0.335).
• No significant group × time differences were found for soreness VAS (PLA: 250 ± 323% vs. TC: 261 ± 432%, p = 0.838), recovery VAS (PLA: -24.6 ± 17.9% vs. TC: -8.2 ± 40.5%, p = 0.251), or readiness to train VAS (PLA: -23.0 ± 19.2% vs. TC: -14.7 ± 20.2%, p = 0.401).
• Creatine kinase showed no significant group × time difference (PLA: 22.8 ± 35.5% vs. TC: 90.4 ± 225.6%, p = 0.31).
• The study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel design with 40 participants (18 M, 22 F) supplementing for 10 days (7 days prior, day of, and 2 days post-exercise) at 500 mg/day.

The repeated sprint protocol produced significant time-dependent reductions in perceived recovery and readiness to train.

• Significant main effects of time were observed for recovery VAS (p < 0.001) and readiness to train VAS (p < 0.001), with both experiencing similar reductions across groups.
• Jump height also showed a significant main effect of time with similar reductions (p = 0.014).
• These changes were observed at 1 h, 24 h, and 48 h post-exercise relative to baseline.
• The exercise protocol consisted of 15 × 30 m sprints with 1 min rest between sprints.

The repeated sprint protocol produced significant time-dependent increases in perceived soreness and creatine kinase.

• Significant main effects of time were observed for soreness VAS (p < 0.001) and creatine kinase (p = 0.05), with similar increases across both groups.
• Myoglobin was also reported to be significantly increased following the sprint protocol.
• Increases were similar between PLA and TC groups, indicating no protective effect of tart cherry supplementation on muscle damage markers.

The repeated sprint protocol caused significant reductions in objective performance measures including jump height, peak propulsive force, and peak torque.

• A single bout of repeated sprints was responsible for significant reductions in jump height, peak propulsive force, and peak torque.
• Perceived readiness was also significantly reduced following the sprint protocol.
• Performance was assessed via countermovement jump, isometric mid-thigh pull, isokinetic knee extension, and the Wingate anaerobic test at baseline, 1 h, 24 h, and 48 h post-exercise.

The study enrolled 40 healthy, physically active young adults in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel design.

• Participants included 18 males and 22 females with mean characteristics: age 24.6 ± 5.5 years, height 171.5 ± 11 cm, weight 71.7 ± 14.5 kg, BMI 24.2 ± 3.1 kg·m-2.
• Supplementation was 500 mg/day of powdered tart cherry or placebo for ten days: seven days prior to, the day of, and two days following the sprint protocol.
• The study used a parallel (not crossover) design.