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Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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08.05.2009 |
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Rats not a gram heavier with Elk Velvet Antler
Supplements containing deer velvet are safe, but even mega-doses of the substance do not make rats grow faster. Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan conclude this in an article published in 2004 in Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology.
Ok, you get it.
Although tens of thousands of people take deer velvet, its safety had never been properly researched. The researchers' aim was to fill this gap.
The researchers got their deer velvet from fresh antlers. Their analyses showed that it contained amino acids, collagen, hyaluronic acid, glycosamine glycan, chondroitin sulphate, fatty acids and sugar chains. In addition, the researchers found calcium, phosphorus, iron and zinc.
The researchers mixed the powder [EVA] in feed and fed it to pregnant rats. Ten percent of the feed consisted of antler powder. A month after the rats had given birth, their offspring were given the same feed. A few months later the researchers examined the young rats.
The graph below shows the weight development of the rats. A control group [RC] went through the same procedure, but were given regular feed.
The deer velvet supplement had no effect on the weight of the kidneys or the liver. The researchers observed no effect of the antler powder on the sugar levels or the rate at which the rats matured either. Strange, considering that ten percent of their diet consisted of bio-active substances that are supposed to raise IGF-1 levels.
Lastly, the researchers also looked at whether deer velvet raised the concentration of the liver enzymes ALT and gamma-GT. This was not the case. The ALT level was in fact fifty percent lower in the rats that had been given the deer velvet. That was a reason for the researchers, who by the way were financed by the Elk Research Council of the North American Elk Breeders Association, to end on a positive note. The results suggest "that EVA may have produced a beneficial effect on the liver".
Hip hip hooray.
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