Capsiate, an extract from peppers chemically similar to capsaicin but without the pungency, has been established as a nutraceutical ingredient which could exert short-term exercise performance benefits, as well as benefits to body composition in conjunction with resistance training. However, the long-term benefits of capsiate supplementation are not well-researched.
 
In a recently-published clinical study, appearing in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, researchers found that long-term supplementation was able to increase fat-free mass and upper body strength in young, untrained men who were enrolled into a resistance exercise program, while the results were significantly less beneficial in those who worked out but didn’t take capsiate supplements.
 
In the study, 20 untrained men were randomized to ingest either 12 mg of capsiate or a placebo daily in a parallel, double-blind design, which lasted for a duration of 6 weeks and included constant resistance training, with tests performed during and after each exercise session for performance as well as inflammatory factors.
 
The increase in fat-free mass compared to baseline in those who took capsiate supplements was significantly greater in comparison to the placebo, and the capsiate supplement group also saw significantly greater improvements in upper body strength during the bench press test.
 
However, capsiate had no effect on lower body strength, and was not associated with any significant changes in inflammatory markers, the authors reported. Nonetheless, the significant differences achieved in the capsiate supplementation group warranted further research into the longer-term benefits that this pepper-based ingredient could have in the field of sports nutrition.
 
“The present study can be applied by coaches, trainers, and sport nutritionists looking to improve fat-free mass gain and upper body strength during sub-acute chronic capsaicin analog supplementation combined with resistance training,” the authors of the study concluded.