Effect Of Menstrual Cycle On Fat Oxidation Of Green Tea Extract
Ishikawa, Akira Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: August 2021 - Volume 53 - Issue 8S - p 267
Green tea extract (GTE) is known to increase fat oxidation during moderate-intensity exercise. Ovarian hormone (estrogen and progesterone) levels fluctuate during the menstrual cycle (MC) in premenopausal women. During the early follicular phase (FP), both hormones are low, and during the luteal phase (LP), these are high. Previous studies have demonstrated that this fluctuation alters substrate oxidation. Therefore, the ingestion of GTE may require consideration of the MC.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the MC on fat oxidation of acute GTE ingestion during moderate-intensity exercise.
METHODS: Seven women with regular MC (age, 21.0 ± 1.4 years; body mass, 60.5 ± 4.1 kg) were recruited. A randomized double-blind crossover study was conducted using either GTE (total, 968 mg polyphenols including 407 mg epigallocatechin gallate, 1.2 mg caffeine) or a placebo (PLA; total, 1200 mg maltodextrin) in an opaque, unidentifiable capsule form. In the FP and LP, subjects either ingested four capsules at lunch and dinner the day before, and one hour before, the experiment. Oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide excretion were measured using breath-by-breath analysis during 30 minutes of exercise at an intensity of 50% maximal workload capacity (Wmax). Fat and carbohydrate (CHO) oxidation rates were calculated using stoichiometric equations. The phase of the MC was confirmed by ovarian hormone levels.
RESULTS: In the PLA trial, total fat oxidation during exercise was significantly higher in the FP than in the LP (FP, 5.8 ± 1.9 g; LP, 4.7 ± 1.6 g; p < 0.05). Total CHO oxidation during exercise tended to increase in the LP compared to the FP (FP, 28.8 ± 6.5 g; LP, 33.1 ± 5.6 g; p = 0.09). For the ratio of substrate oxidation to total energy expenditure, the ratio of fat increased (FP, 31.3 ± 10.2%; LP, 24.5 ± 7.3%; p < 0.05) and the ratio of CHO decreased in the FP when compared with the LP (FP, 68.7 ± 10.2%; LP, 75.5 ± 7.3%; p < 0.05). However, in the GTE trial, there was no difference in total fat oxidation, total CHO oxidation, or the ratio of substrate oxidation to total energy expenditure during exercise between the FP and LP.
CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that acute ingestion of GTE might eliminate the disparity in fat oxidation caused by the MC, with fat oxidation being lower during the LP than during the FP.