ArticleFrontiers in nutrition2025
Effects of Urolithin A supplementation on performance and antioxidant status in academy soccer players during preseason: a pilot randomised controlled trial.
Article in Frontiers in nutrition, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effects of Urolithin A supplementation on muscle health outcomes in humans from randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Health Benefits and Molecular Mechanisms of Urolithin A: From a Gut Microbiota-Derived Metabolite to Translational Applications.Food science & nutrition · 2026Review
- Urolithins in clinical translation: from gut microbial metabolites to precision interventions.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Microbiome-based nutrition and the gut-muscle axis: emerging perspectives for athletic performance and recovery.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Polyphenol-derived compounds, such as Urolithin A (UA), may exert beneficial effects to performance adaptations during periods of high training stress through several pathways including a reduction in an oxidative stress and improved mitochondrial function. At present, the benefits of UA supplementation have been observed predominantly in clinical and preclinical models. This pilot study aimed to investigate the effects of UA supplementation on performance outcomes, antioxidant status, and intervention feasibility and acceptability during a six-week preseason period in academy soccer players. Methods: Twenty male academy soccer players (age: 17.5 ± 1.0 years) were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive 1,000 mg/day of UA or an isocaloric taste-matched placebo which was given post-training over the course of a six-week training intervention in a single-blinded, parallel-group design. The intervention was delivered alongside the team's preseason training from November to December 2024. Primary outcome was aerobic endurance (Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1), with secondary outcomes including lower-limb strength and power metrics (Countermovement Jump), maximal sprinting speed, and salivary antioxidant capacity using the RoXsta™ System. Each of the primary and secondary outcomes were assessed pre and post the intervention. Feasibility and acceptability of the intervention along with dietary intake was assessed via individual questionnaire, pre and post intervention, while subjective stress-recovery status was assessed via questionnaire administered weekly over the duration of the intervention. Primary and secondary data were analysed using linear mixed effects models, with group (UA/placebo) × time (pre/post) interactions interpreted using estimated marginal means. Results: UA supplementation led to significantly greater improvements in Yo-Yo IRT1 performance compared to placebo (Δ = +239 m, 95% CI [20, 454 m], Conclusion: Six weeks of UA supplementation during preseason improved aerobic endurance and some measures of jump performance in elite academy soccer players, while preserving aspects of antioxidant status. Confidence limits on the primary and secondary findings were broad. These findings potentially support UA as a feasible and well-tolerated intervention in athletic populations, warranting further research in larger and well powered confirmatory trials (Clinical Trial No. ACTRN12624000959572).
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.