The effect of lemon balm on oxidative stress and antioxidant response in amateur adolescent football players

This study aimed to investigate the effect of consuming one week of dried lemon balm extract on oxidative stress and antioxidant response in amateur adolescent football players after a football match.

They will be randomly assigned to either the supplementation group or the placebo group, using computer-generated sequences,

Participants will visit the physiology laboratory on four occasions. The first session is designed to measure their anthropometric characteristics (stature, weight, body mass, and percentage of body fat) and evaluate basic levels of MDA, TAC, GPx, SOD, and CAT. The second session will be an assessment of MDA, TAC, GPx, SOD, and CAT before the football match, and the third and fourth sessions will measure MDA, TAC, GPx, SOD, and CAT 30 minutes and 90 minutes after the football match, respectively. Participants completed a food diary 72 hours before their first session and will repeat this diet before the second session. They also refrain from consuming antioxidant supplements, drinking alcohol, and engaging in any exercise 72 hours before the first session and during the week of intervention.

Soccer players who have to have at least one year of experience playing soccer in provincial or national competitions and trained at least six hours per week. They will be excluded if they have had any injuries, illnesses, or infectious diseases or if they have consumed steroidal or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or nutritional supplements such as vitamins E and C in the last six months.

This group will receive 1.5 g/day of dried extract of lemon balm

Total Antioxidant Capacity; malondialdehyde; catalase; glutathione peroxidase; superoxide dismutase

The study will use a simple randomization method. Participants are randomly assigned into two groups—an intervention group receiving lemon balm and a placebo group. The randomization will be done at the individual level, with each of the 20 soccer players assigned to one of the two groups. A computer-generated sequence will be used to allocate participants to each group randomly. This method provides high precision and reproducibility, minimizing selection bias. The sequence will be generated in a computer system to ensure unpredictability. Allocation concealment will be achieved by keeping this sequence hidden from the researchers and participants until after the intervention is completed.

The study is double-blind, meaning that neither the participants nor the researchers (including principal investigators and outcome assessors) will know who will receive the intervention or the placebo. This will be accomplished by using identical capsules for the lemon balm and placebo, thus preventing visual differentiation. The adolescent soccer players will not know whether they are receiving the supplement or placebo. Those responsible for collecting and analyzing the blood samples and performance data will be blinded to group assignments, ensuring unbiased results and principal Investigators will Remain blinded to group allocations during data collection and analysis.

The report will be submitted to the university's research department. Also published as a paper

2025

All researchers

Citing references

Scientific bases and Allameh Tabatabai University of Iran

Maximum a week