EFFECTS OF POST-EXERCISE CURCUMIN SUPPLEMENTATION ON BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS FOLLOWING ACUTE HIGH-INTENSITY RESISTANCE EXERCISE: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PILOT TRIAL

Abstract

Background: High-intensity exercise acutely elevates blood glucose through catecholamine-driven hepatic glucose production and NF-κB-mediated inflammation. Curcumin inhibits NF-κB signalling and may attenuate post-exercise hyperglycaemia, yet its efficacy following a single high-intensity bout in non-diabetic individuals remains unexplored. This study evaluated the effect of a single oral curcumin dose administered 24 hours after acute high-intensity resistance exercise on blood glucose in healthy untrained adult males. Methods: A randomized placebo-controlled pilot trial was conducted to evaluate blood glucose. Fourteen males were divided into two groups. Group K1 received placebo, and group K2 was administered 400 mg curcumin. All participants performed a single session of lower-limb resistance exercise (4 sets × 10 repetitions; 80-90% 1RM) for approximately 40 minutes (including a 10-minute warm-up). After 24 hours of exercise, placebo and 400 mg curcumin were administered as a single oral dose. After 24 hours of supplementation, blood glucose was measured at four time-points and analysed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and paired t-test. Results: There was no significant blood glucose reduction post-exercise after a 200 mg single-dose curcumin (p>0,05). Conclusion: Single-dose curcumin did not reduce post-exercise blood glucose, though a decreasing trend warrants further investigation with higher doses and larger samples.