Blueberries May Counteract Damage from Overexercise

In that skeletal muscle damage can result from unaccustomed or excessive exercise, muscle dysfunction has been observed to occur as a result of an increased level of reactive oxygen species (free radicals). Roger D. Hurst, from the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited (New Zealand), and colleagues exposed developing skeletal muscle fibers (myotubes) to various concentrations of fruit extracts, along with two compounds that induce cellular stress. The team found blueberry extract to protect the muscle fibers in a dose-dependent fashion.   Containing malvidin galactoside and malvidin glucoside, the team suggests these two antioxidant compounds  “may be beneficial in alleviating muscle damage caused by oxidative stress.”