The effects of pollen and protein extracts on selected blood factors and performance of athletes

Volunteer (18) male high school cross country runners were randomly subdivided into 3 diet groups for a 12-wk placebo, double blind design, nutrition-performance experiment. Diets 1, 2 and 3 supplemented normal diets with daily ingestion of 4 pollen extract, 4 placebo, and 4 protein extract capsules respectively. Blood samples drawn from each individual before and after the experiment were analyzed for serum K, Hgb, and Hct levels. The mean velocity of a pre and post 3-mile run conducted on the same course was the performance measure. An ANOVA, with diet and pre and post measures as the main and split plot respectively, found no significant differences among the diet groups in blood levels of K, Hgb, and Hct. Significant pre and post differences were found in blood levels of K and Hgb. Pre versus post for performance was highly significant. The analysis to compare diets for differences in performance was nonsignificant, and diet x pre-post measure interaction was nonsignificant for all variables. The findings failed to uncover any advantage in taking pollen or protein extracts for improvement or maintenance of K, Hct, and Hgb blood levels or improvement in performance.