Effects of polyphenol (carob) supplementation on body composition and aerobic capacity in taekwondo athletes

Abstract Herbal products and supplements use by athletes has increased over the past decade. One such item being polyphenols. These are reported to reduce weight and modify body composition, which could aid athletes in many sports. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to determine the effect of 6 weeks supplementation with carob, a naturally occurring polyphenol, on body composition and aerobic capacity in youth taekwondo athletes. Twenty-three taekwondo athletes (21.9 ± 1.2 years; 1.64 ± 0.03 m; 67.4 ± 17.3 kg;BMI: 22.8 ± 5.5 kg/m 2 ) participated in a short-term (6-week) double-blind randomized design parallel fully controlled training study (pre-to-post measurements): Supplemented group (SG), n  = 11;placebo group (PG), n  = 12. Body composition, aerobic capacity, heart rate and RPE were analyzed before and after 6 weeks of carob rich polyphenol ingestion. Significantly greater decreases in weight were observed for SG and PG (−2.82% and − 0.51%respectively) with differences between groups ( p