Stunning research findings highlight multi-faceted recovery benefits of CurraNZ

Whether you’re a recreational exerciser or a serious athlete, optimising recovery is important – and particularly if your regime involves high training loads.

With leading US, New Zealand and European ultra-endurance athletes and sports teams using CurraNZ for their intensive regimes, here we detail why our unique polyphenol extract is being used to elevate post-exercise recovery.

Several studies^1,2,3,4 have shown the stark effect that CurraNZ can have on exercise recovery, when taken before damaging bouts of exercise.

The bioactives act an antioxidants, anti-inflammatories^5,6 and vasodilators^7,8,9, making it a multi-faceted and unique natural dietary aid for exercisers. 

The researched properties of CurraNZ puts it amongst the best evidence-based polyphenolic interventions for exercise recovery – leading to the rise in endurance athletes and teams like the New Zealand All Blacks (below) who rely on it to stay at the top of their game.

Just one capsule leads to three-times faster recovery of muscle function

A groundbreaking 2021 study¹ showed how one capsule of CurraNZ taken before and after a damaging exercise protocol led to three-times faster recovery of muscle function over a 96-hour period.

Plus, participants experienced 48% less muscle soreness over 48 hours, compared to placebo and 84% less tissue damage.  

Dr Julie Hunt, lecturer in Sport and Exercise Sciences at the School of Biosciences and Medicine at the University of Surrey (UK), led the 2021 study.

She says: “We saw by the creatine kinase levels that our exercise protocol caused significant muscle damage in the placebo group, but this response was absent in the CurraNZ group.

“In line with this, those who consumed the extract reported half the level of muscle soreness and regained muscle strength faster during the 96-hour recovery period.

“This is really indicative that the CurraNZ extract suppressed the inflammatory and oxidative stress responses that stimulate pain receptors and further (secondary) muscle damage following strenuous exercise, aiding recovery”.

Exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) typically involves two phases of recovery, with a disruption to muscle fibres followed by a rise in inflammation, swelling and oxidative stress.

Supplementing with antioxidant-rich CurraNZ primes muscle tissue to cope with the inevitable increase in oxidative stress that occurs with exercise, while continued supplementation in the recovery period attenuates secondary damage that leads to further tissue damage and soreness.

Dr Hunt finishes by saying: “There is a clear application for blackcurrant to facilitate exercise recovery as individuals regained their strength more quickly, while suffering up to 47% and 49% less muscle soreness at 24 and 48 hours.”

Discovery of new mechanism finds CurraNZ accelerates glycogen storage in muscle

Following a workout, depleted and damaged muscles rely on carbohydrate to replenish cells, so taking on high-quality carbohydrates within 15 minutes of a session – and no later than 60 minutes - is important.

Early data from a new study² due for publication later in 2023 has shown that CurraNZ helps athletes recover faster after exhaustive exercise by speeding up carbohydrate storage in muscle.  

CurraNZ accelerated the rates of glycogen resynthesis in muscle by 10% just four hours following exhaustive exercise, which has significant implications not only for recovery, but also for performance.

Dr Sam Shepherd, who performed the study at Liverpool John Moores University (UK), says: “We are seeing is that blackcurrant seems to be ‘priming’ the muscle and changing the muscle machinery, which supports carbohydrate storage and exercise capacity."

Carbohydrate consumption at a rate of >1.2 g/kg bodyweight per hour maximises glycogen resynthesis. However, consuming this quantity of carbohydrate is challenging for many athletes, and therefore the benefit of using supplemental aids to support glycogen resynthesis are of great interest.

These findings are particularly relevant to those who train daily, twice a day, or are undertaking multi-day stage races. 

*CurraNZ comes with a money-back guarantee for improving recovery, If, after using a 30-capsule pack, dosing on 1-2 capsules before exercise, you don’t feel an improvement in your post-exercise soreness, fatigue and energy, we’ll refund your purchase.

 *In a CurraNZ® customer survey, 80% of fitness consumers who purchased the product for muscle recovery noticed 97% less muscle soreness.

Read about how CurraNZ took Germany to World Cup hockey success  

References

1. Consumption of New Zealand Blackcurrant Extract [CurraNZ] improves recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage in non-resistance trained men and women: A double-blind randomized trial, Nutrients, 2021 https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13082875
2. New Zealand blackcurrant extract [CurraNZ] enhances skeletal muscle glycogen re-synthesis in response to Sub-Optimal Carbohydrate Ingestion, Research Institute of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom (ABSTRACT - ISENC, December 2022)
3. Consumption of an Anthocyanin-Rich Extract Made From New Zealand Blackcurrants Prior to Exercise May Assist Recovery From Oxidative Stress and Maintains Circulating Neutrophil Function: A Pilot Study. Front Nutr [Internet]. 2019 May 29;6(May). Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnut.2019.00073/full
4. Daily Consumption of an Anthocyanin-Rich Extract Made From New Zealand Blackcurrants for 5 Weeks Supports Exercise Recovery Through the Management of Oxidative Stress and Inflammation: A Randomized Placebo Controlled Pilot Study. Front Nutr [Internet]. 2020 Feb 27;7(February
5. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Ribes nigrum extracts. 2012;131(4):1116–1122.
6. Short-term blackcurrant extract consumption modulates exercise-induced oxidative stress and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated in-flammatory responses, Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol 297:70-81, 2009. 
7. Cardiovascular function during supine rest in endurance‑trained males with New Zealand blackcurrant [CurraNZ]: a dose–response study, Eur J Appl Physiology DOI 10.1007/s00421-016-3512-x
8. Effect of Intake Duration of Anthocyanin-rich New Zealand Blackcurrant Extract on Cardiovascular Responses and Femoral Artery Diameter during Sustained Submaximal Isometric Contraction, Journal of Dietary Supplements, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1080/19390211.2021.1948943
9. New Zealand Blackcurrant [CurraNZ] Alters Physiological Reponses and Femoral Artery Diameter during Sustained Isometric Contraction. June 2017 Nutrients 2017, 9(6), 556; doi:10.3390/nu906055

*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.