Mussel powder and muscle recovery after exercise in men
What it found
In 20 untrained men, taking Greenshell mussel powder for four weeks before a hard leg exercise led to faster recovery of muscle strength and less soreness than a placebo.
The study measured muscle function, soreness and blood markers over 72 hours after exercise.
What they found
Studies in people
Muscle strength recovery
The mussel powder group had better recovery of isometric and concentric peak torque at 48 and 72 hours after exercise compared with the placebo group. The authors say this shows the powder helped muscle function recover faster.
Muscle soreness
Soreness increased in both groups after exercise, but the mussel powder group had lower affective pain and VAS-assessed pain at some time points, and their soreness returned to pre-exercise levels sooner. The authors say this indicates reduced severity of delayed onset muscle soreness.
Creatine kinase levels
At 72 hours after exercise, blood levels of creatine kinase, a marker of muscle damage, were lower in the mussel powder group than in the placebo group. The authors say this shows faster dissipation of the marker.
Immune markers
The mussel powder group had a significant increase in natural killer cells immediately after exercise, while the placebo group did not. The authors say the role of this in muscle recovery is unclear and needs more research.
What the authors conclude
“The present study demonstrates that long-term supplementation with New Zealand GSM powder expedited the recovery of muscle function, reduced the severity of DOMS and facilitated the dissipation of DOMS and CK to baseline during recovery following EIMD to the quadriceps.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that long-term supplementation with New Zealand Greenshell mussel powder expedited the recovery of muscle function, reduced the severity of delayed onset muscle soreness and facilitated the dissipation of soreness and creatine kinase after exercise-induced muscle damage.
- They say these findings support the potential benefits of Greenshell mussel powder as a functional food for supporting muscle recovery in untrained men.
- They recommend further research to see if similar benefits occur in untrained women and trained athletes, and to understand if the effects are due to immune-modulating properties.
How it was done
Unaccustomed eccentric exercise causes muscle damage that reduces performance for several days, and there is demand for nutritional strategies to speed recovery. The authors wanted to see if Greenshell mussel powder, which is rich in bioactive compounds, could help.
Twenty untrained adult men took either Greenshell mussel powder or a placebo for four weeks in a double-blind, cross-over study. They then did a bench-stepping exercise to damage their quadriceps, and researchers measured muscle function, soreness and blood markers before, immediately after, and 24, 48 and 72 hours after exercise.
What it can’t tell you
- The study only included untrained men, so the results may not apply to women or to people who are trained athletes.
- The study cannot show whether the benefits are due to specific compounds in the mussel powder or how they might work in the body.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.
- Authors work at
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, New Zealand; Massey University, New Zealand; Cawthron Institute, New Zealand
The paper
- Title
- The Efficacy of New Zealand Greenshell™ Mussel Powder Supplementation in Supporting Muscle Recovery Following Eccentric Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage in Healthy, Untrained Adult Males
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Lomiwes D, Barnes M, Shaw O, et al (2023). The Efficacy of New Zealand Greenshell™ Mussel Powder Supplementation in Supporting Muscle Recovery Following Eccentric Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage in Healthy, Untrained Adult Males. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu15102316Free full textPubMed 37242198DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error