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Fitness

Anatabine Not as Effective as Hoped for DOMS

If you're like most athletes, you're probably looking for ways to avoid DOMS and missed training sessions. A recent study suggests anatabine is one product that might not work.

Doug Dupont

Written by Doug Dupont Last updated on August 7, 2013

Delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, is something every athlete has experienced. Most of us have a love-hate relationship with it. DOMS is a pain, literally, but you can’t tell me you don’t enjoy massaging a sore muscle a day or two after a tough workout. The worst part of DOMS, however, is the associated loss of strength and function. Not only does it make you want to avoid exercising that muscle again, but even if you did, you wouldn’t be as strong.

One of the major components of DOMS is inflammation of the tissues. For this reason, anti-inflammatory strategies like massage, supplementation, or over-the-counter drugs are frequently suggested for reducing symptoms. In a recent study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, researchers looked at the anti-inflammatory effects of anatabine supplementation as a possible method for reducing DOMS.

Anatabine is an alkaloid found in the Solanacaea family of plants, which includes eggplant and peppers. It is, however, better known for being chemically similar to nicotine, and can be found in tobacco. Anatabine has recently been making waves for its ability to reduce inflammation, including brain inflammation that is associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers in this study proposed that it may also be a boon for frequent DOMS sufferers.

There are many studies out there dealing with DOMS and how to best alleviate it. There are many more home remedies you’ve probably heard from a guy at the gym. While some of these remedies may seem to speed up recovery, nothing seems to work as well as we’d all like. The researchers of this study thought anatabine would be different.

But alas, much like those remedies that came before it, anatabine failed to show a benefit. The researchers didn’t look at just pain. They also examined resting joint angle, strength, blood pressure, heart rate, and muscle circumference. But in the end, they were forced to conclude that the anatabine pills shouldn’t start rolling off the trucks to your local supplement stores. And I mean it when I say that, since a few of the researchers worked for pharmaceutical and nutrition companies, one of which was the primary reviewer and designer of the study.

Unless these companies were trying to knock out a competitor, it looks like the evil powers that sometimes control the results of studies like this took the day off. Nothing magical here. DOMS is still a problem we will have to resolve with a massage and time.

The good news is, we won’t start seeing cigarette and eggplant flavored workout shakes at the gym. Anatabine isn’t the holy grail of eliminating DOMS. However, the researchers did suggest further study into the effects of anatabine on chronic inflammation, which is often found in obese people, to improve overall health. The future may hold bright things for anatabine, but for now, it will remain on the sidelines.

References:

1. Nathaniel Jenkins, et. al., “The effects of anatabine on non-invasive indicators of muscle damage: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study,” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2013, 10:33.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Doug Dupont

About Doug Dupont

Having grown up at the foot of a forest covered mountain in rural Vermont, Doug was active from a very young age. Hiking, running, and climbing were a part of everyday life in the Green Mountains. This culture of exercise led to dabbling in martial arts as a teen, and also getting work in a local powerlifting focused gym. Doug continued to pursue knowledge and training in exercise, becoming a certified personal trainer while still a teenager. Once in college he began his hand at the business side of fitness, taking a management position at a large local gym. During that time he became a founding member of the UVM Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club, and was the first among their competition team. After only a few months he was assisting in coaching, and ran conditioning program for the club.

Out of college Doug set up his own training center. He grew his list of clientele including several professional MMA athletes, eventually going so far as to corner a world title fight. He has continued ­­­to develop his business into today.

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