Purpose: Blackcurrant extract mainly contains anthocyanins. Several reports suggest that anthocyanins have beneficial effect for cardiovascular functions. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of 7-day intake of New Zealand blackcurrant (NZBC) extract on arterial functions, e.g. arterial stiffness, and serum lipids. Methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design study with a washout period of 28 days was conducted. Fourteen older adults participated in this study (age 73.3 ± 1.7 years). Participants took either a 7-day course of placebo or two capsules of NZBC extract (each 300 mg capsule contains 35% blackcurrant extract). Participants took one of the two trials first and then took the other after a washout period. Carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity, an index of central arterial stiffness, and central blood pressure were measured at baseline and again at the end of the 7-day study period. Results: Compared to baseline, carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity (P = .03) and central blood pressure (P = .02) decreased significantly after the 7-day study period with NZBC intake. In addition, carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity (P = .04) and central blood pressure (P = .001) in the NZBC intake trial decreased significantly more than in the placebo intake trial. No effects were observed on serum lipids. Conclusion: These results suggest that short-term NZBC intake reduces central arterial stiffness and central blood pressure in older adults. Therefore, anthocyanin-rich blackcurrants might be beneficial for maintaining or improving cardiovascular health as an alternative to pharmaceutical medications. Abbreviations: Aix: augmentation index; BP: blood pressure; cfPWV: carotid–femoral pulse-wave velocity; CVD: cardiovascular diseases; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; faPWV: femoral-ankle pulse-wave velocity; FG: fasting glucose; HDL: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; MBP: mean blood pressure; NZBC: New Zealand blackcurrant; PP: pulse pressure; SBP: systolic blood pressure; TG: triglycerides.

Acute high-intensity resistance exercise increases arterial stiffness. Changes in blood concentrations of estrogen and progesterone associated with the menstrual cycle affect the degree of arterial stiffness. Therefore, high-intensity resistance exercise may affect arterial stiffness differently depending on the phase of the menstrual cycle. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different phases of the menstrual cycle on arterial stiffness after one session of resistance exercise. The participants were 9 eumenorrheic females (21.3±0.8 years). All participants performed 5 sets of 5 repetitions using 80% of the one repetition maximum (1RM) bench press and 5 sets of 10 repetitions using 70% of the 1RM biceps curl during both the follicular and luteal phases. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), blood pressure, and heart rate were measured before (baseline) and at 30 and 60 min after completing the resistance exercises. During the follicular phase, baPWV was significantly increased at 30 and 60 min after the resistance exercise compared with baseline (P<0.05), whereas during the luteal phase, no significant differences were observed after the resistance exercise. These results suggest that high-intensity resistance exercise affects arterial stiffness differently depending on the phase of the menstrual cycle.

Although high-intensity resistance training (RT) increases arterial stiffness, removing weightlifting stimuli returns arterial stiffness to baseline levels within relatively short periods during 4–8 weeks. This study investigates the effects of repeated RT cessation and resumption on arterial stiffness. Eighteen young healthy subjects were randomly assigned to a group that performed continuous RT (CRT, n=9) and a group that performed periodic RT (PRT, n=9). Both groups performed RT at 75% of one repetition maximum for 3 days per week. The CRT group continuously trained for 16 weeks, whereas the PRT group performed 3 cycles of 4 weeks training, with 2 weeks detraining intervals between cycles. The carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity in the CRT group significantly increased (P<0.05) at 4, 6, 10, 12, 16 and 20 weeks from baseline, whereas in the PRT group it significantly increased (P<0.05) after 4, 10 and 16 weeks from baseline, and was significantly lower (P<0.05) than that of the CRT group after 6, 10, 12, 16 and 20 weeks. Muscle mass and strength in the both groups significantly increased after 16 weeks from baseline and persisted for 20 weeks (P<0.05). These results suggest that PRT, including short-term repeated cessation and resumption, attenuates increases in arterial stiffness.

A recent case-control study identified 28 DNA polymorphisms associated with strength athlete status. However, studies of genotype-phenotype design are required to support those findings. The aim of the present study was to investigate both individually and in combination the association of 28 genetic markers with weightlifting performance in Russian athletes and to replicate the most significant findings in an independent cohort of Japanese athletes. Genomic DNA was collected from 53 elite Russian (31 men and 22 women, 23.3 ± 4.1 years) and 100 sub-elite Japanese (53 men and 47 women, 21.4 ± 4.2 years) weightlifters, and then genotyped using PCR or micro-array analysis. Out of 28 DNA polymorphisms, LRPPRC rs10186876 A, MMS22L rs9320823 T, MTHFR rs1801131 C, and PHACTR1 rs6905419 C alleles positively correlated (p < 0.05) with weightlifting performance (i.e., total lifts in snatch and clean and jerk in official competitions adjusted for sex and body mass) in Russian athletes. Next, using a polygenic approach, we found that carriers of a high (6–8) number of strength-related alleles had better competition results than carriers of a low (0–5) number of strength-related alleles (264.2 (14.7) vs. 239.1 (21.9) points; p = 0.009). These findings were replicated in the study of Japanese athletes. More specifically, Japanese carriers of a high number of strength-related alleles were stronger than carriers of a low number of strength-related alleles (212.9 (22.6) vs. 199.1 (17.2) points; p = 0.0016). In conclusion, we identified four common gene polymorphisms individually or in combination associated with weightlifting performance in athletes from East European and East Asian geographic ancestries.