Effects of Octacosanol During Taekwondo Training
Condition: Oxidative Stress; Dyslipidemias
MeSH terms: Dyslipidemias
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Taekwondo players undergo rapid reductions of body weight prior to their competition in order
      to gain a size advantage over the opponent. However, these large weight changes with
      concomitant high intensity exercise training induce poor lipid profiles and high levels of
      oxidative stress, which can be detrimental to health and sports performance. Therefore, the
      purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of the nutritional supplement
      octacosanol to combat the physiological detriments that can occur from these rapid weight
      changes paired with high intensity exercise training.
    

Detailed description: 
      Athletes that participate in weight division sports such as taekwondo, boxing, judo, and
      wrestling regularly reduce their body weight severely prior to competition in order to gain a
      size advantage over the opponent while simultaneously meeting their weight division
      requirements. In general, athletes have acute weight loss of 4-7 kg within 3-4 days of
      competition, while longer periods of more gradual weight loss of 15-22 kg lasting 3-4 weeks.
      Although this kind of extreme weight loss can induce metabolic dysfunction, it is repeatedly
      performed by athletes of weight division sports in order to acquire a more advantageous
      condition for play. Furthermore, athletes participating in matches tend to obtain excessive
      weights compared to their weight division during the offseason in order to lift heavier
      weights during training, and then rapidly lose that weight over a short period of time prior
      to competition, resulting in the deterioration of physiological function and possibly sports
      performance.

      Rapid weight loss with high intensity exercise training also increases oxygen free radical
      production to a point that exceeds the defense mechanism of antioxidant enzymes in the body
      and ultimately results in damage to the cells, specifically, the lipid peroxidation of cell
      membranes. Not only does this decrease physiological function, but sports performance can
      also decrease as oxidative stress increases due to an interference in metabolic activity, a
      reduction in vascular function and an increase in systemic inflammation. Octacosanol, a
      straight-chain, high-molecular-weight, primary aliphatic alcohol minimally contained in the
      germinal disks of rice bran, wheat and sugar cane, may be able to prevent these
      deteriorations as it has been shown to provide various health benefits. In fact, previous
      studies reported that pre-exercise octacosanol intake contributed to enhanced muscular
      strength, muscular endurance and oxygen transport ability. Additionally, octacosanol
      supplementation has been shown to improve cardiovascular endurance and heart function in
      patients with peripheral artery disease, improve levels of low-density and high-density
      lipoprotein-cholesterol in patients with hypercholesterolemia, and increase glycogen
      accumulation in mice9. However, the potential beneficial effects of octacosanol intake for
      reducing free radical production and preventing detrimental physiological function from
      excessive weight loss with high intensity exercise has not been examined. Thus, the purpose
      of this study was to investigate the effects of octacosanol supplementation during acute
      weight loss with high-intensity exercise training on lipid profiles and markers of oxidative
      stress in taekwondo players.
    

Intervention name(s): Octacosanol; Placebo
Intervention type(s): Dietary Supplement; Dietary Supplement
Intervention description(s): One capsules (20-mg) of 100% refined octacosanol powder from sugar cane (Swanson, Fargo ND, USA) was consumed twice a day; A placebo pill was taken twice a day in a double-blinded method at the same frequency and time as the octacosanol supplement
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double (Participant, Investigator)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Octacosanol; Taekwondo; Lipid Profiles; Oxidative Stress