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A new blackcurrant extract case study (1) is exciting researchers after revealing startling enhancements to performance factors in an unacclimatised, amateur peak-trained male ultra-marathoner in the heat.
The landmark case study tested the effects of CurraNZ blackcurrant extract in a male and female who were due to race in the 2023 Marathon Des Sables, a six-stage, 250km ultra-marathon across the Sahara Desert.
The male’s results showed:
The startling changes in the male’s energy metabolism resulted in the highest-ever CurraNZ value for reducing carbohydrate expenditure.
Additionally, it lowered the male runner’s core temperature in the 34C heat, an indication of improved thermoregulation.
CurraNZ is an ergogenic aid that has been validated to improve running endurance, cycling and climbing performance by 2.6% - 11% - improvements normally seen after months and years of structured training.
A dozen cohort studies (2-13) have established the unprecedented effects of New Zealand blackcurrant extract on energy metabolism at rest and during exercise, in both genders, across multiple exercise durations and intensities, and in hot and ambient temperatures.
This case study allowed rare access to ultra-endurance athletes at the end of their training programme, ahead of one of the world’s toughest multi-day stage races in hot desert conditions.
The female was a non-responder to blackcurrant, which is not uncommon in sports nutrition studies, however her data has provided new insights on potential energy metabolism thresholds for blackcurrant.
Prior to starting heat acclimation training four weeks before the Marathon Des Sables, the two novice endurance athletes were tested in an hour’s treadmill running in 34C heat, having dosed on two capsules (600mg) of CurraNZ for 7 days. They had a light breakfast before the session.
Mark Willems, Professor of Exercise Physiology at the University of Chichester, says: “It is quite amazing to see that blackcurrant could change fat and carbohydrate oxidation positively to this degree in someone due to compete in the Marathon Des Sables, where we’d expect them to have an already high degree of fat-burning adaptations for fuelling.
“Additionally, running in hot conditions usually leads to a decline in fat oxidation, which leads to greater fatigue, so to see blackcurrant once again enhancing access to fat as fuel and sparing carbohydrate in the heat is really meaningful.”
Reflecting on the volume of research to date, Professor Willems says: “We now have convincing evidence that blackcurrant extract can effectively change an individual’s energy metabolism after just 7 days, without manipulating the diet and irrespective of someone’s training status, which is really amazing – and rare to see.”
Conversely, the female had an existing high degree of fat burning which may be the reason she did not respond to blackcurrant.
Professor Willems says: “It is likely there wasn’t much improvement that could be achieved because of her intrinsically high rate of fat oxidation – 77% of the existing contribution to her energy requirements were from fat. Therefore, there was less room to play with in enhancing her fat burning capabilities. In saying that, it would’ve been interesting to have tested a higher dose.”
Thermoregulation – is blackcurrant a supplemental aid for athletes in the heat?
Previous work (15) has shown that blackcurrant can reduce the stress response of exertional heat stress in runners and protect the gut, with a pilot study in runners revealing a small trend towards reducing deep core temperature (16).
In this Marathon Des Sable case study, blackcurrant led to a reduction of 0.4C in the male’s core temperature, an indicator of enhanced thermoregulation. This is indicative of the athlete experiencing lower heat stress than in the long term may lower fatigue and benefit exercise performance.
Professor Willems says: “Clearly, it’s advantageous if an individual can exercise for longer at intensity in the heat without their core temperature rising.
“It is not uncommon to see such lower core temperatures during exercise after heat acclimation training in preparation for competition in hot environments.”
“This could be linked to blackcurrant’s ability to enhance blood flow, meaning more blood supply to the skin could be helping the body dissipate heat more quickly.
“This is an encouraging observation of enhanced thermoregulation, but is only a case study, suggesting this warrants more investigation in cohort studies.”
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