Anthocyanins and exercise performance in people
What it found
Blackcurrant anthocyanins improved exercise performance in several human studies, while cherry results were mixed.
The authors say benefits may depend on the specific fruit and its anthocyanin make-up.
What they found
Studies in people
Blackcurrant and cycling
In 14 trained male cyclists, 7 days of blackcurrant extract (105 mg anthocyanin per day) made a 16.1 km time trial 2.4% faster. Another study found blackcurrant shifted the lactate curve during incremental cycling.
Blackcurrant and running
Blackcurrant extract increased total running distance by 10.6% in an intermittent high-intensity running test to exhaustion. It also reduced slowing of maximal sprint running in the last 15 minutes of a shuttle test.
Cherry and performance
Cherry results were mixed. One study found a half-marathon was 13% faster with cherry, but another found no difference in 20 km cycling time trial. A third found no effect on time-to-exhaustion but a 9.5% increase in peak power in a 60-second sprint.
Recovery after exercise
Several studies found cherry or blueberry anthocyanins helped maintain muscle strength in the days after damaging or fatiguing exercise. For example, one study found a 4% decline in strength with cherry versus 22% with placebo after elbow exercise.
Training adaptations
Two studies gave anthocyanins during training periods. One found no effect on 5 km time trial but a possible improvement for faster runners. Another found the anthocyanin group increased their maximum oxygen uptake while the placebo group did not.
Studies in people and animals
Blood flow mechanism
In lab tests, anthocyanins and their metabolites affected blood vessel cells, including increasing nitric oxide synthase activity. In people, blackcurrant increased femoral artery diameter during exercise and changed blood flow.
What the authors conclude
- They say that exercise performance benefits may be fruit and/or berry specific, with benefits observed for blackcurrant but not demonstrated to the same extent for other anthocyanin-containing fruits.
- They state that current evidence indicates no detriment to performance when anthocyanins are taken during training.
- They advise that future work is needed to confirm if suppression of training responses occurs and to identify the mechanisms for improved exercise performance.
How it was done
Foods and supplements high in anthocyanins are gaining popularity in sports nutrition. The authors wanted to examine the experimental evidence for anthocyanins to improve exercise performance in humans.
They reviewed human studies where people took anthocyanin-rich blackcurrant or cherry products, usually for several days, and then did cycling, running or other exercise tests. Studies included trained and untrained men and women, with some lasting up to 24 days.
What it can’t tell you
- Most studies used men, so it is not clear if the same effects apply to women.
- The effects in elite athletes are unknown.
- Some studies were small or had design issues, so their results may not be firm.
The paper
- Title
- Dietary Anthocyanins: A Review of the Exercise Performance Effects and Related Physiological Responses
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Cook MD, Willems MET (2019). Dietary Anthocyanins: A Review of the Exercise Performance Effects and Related Physiological Responses. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.2018-0088Free full textPubMed 30160565DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error