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Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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07.01.2013 |
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Fitter with Gotu Kola
The researchers wanted to know whether Gotu Kola does indeed possess the properties alluded to in the folklore, so they gave 80 subjects a capsule containing 0 [the placebo], 250, 500 or 750 mg Gotu Kola extract every day for 12 weeks. The extracts were water based. Each gram contained 29.9 mg tannic acid, 1.1 mg asiaticoside and 48.9 mg asiatic acid. Ethnopharmacologists believe that asiatic acid and its analogues are the bioactive substances in Gotu Kola. These are shown below.
Just before and after the supplementation period the researchers measured the distance the subjects were able to run in six minutes, and how many times they could stand up from sitting in 30 seconds. They discovered that Gotu Kola improved the subjects' performance in both tests.
The researchers also got the subjects to squeeze a spring, but the supplementation had no effect on the strength in the participants' hands.
"In conclusion, our study clearly demonstrated the potential of Centella asiatica to improve muscle strength, especially the muscle of the lower extremities", the researchers write. "Centella asiatica might be useful as a natural resource in the development of functional foods improving the daily physical activity in the healthy elderly."
The researchers did not find a clear relationship between dose and effect. They suspect that this is because the extracts were not standardized for the most important active ingredients in Gotu Kola. These are still unknown.
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