Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42211549›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in sports and active living2026

Multimechanistic actions of functional factors in enhancing physical strength and endurance: a scoping review of nutritional basis and natural extracts.

Xiangyu Huang, Jingjing Zhu, Peng Zang, Junli Chen, Pu Chen, Nan Xu, Wei Liu

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in sports and active living, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Xiangyu HuangCollege of Food Science and Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou, China.
Jingjing ZhuChina Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing, China.
Peng ZangCollege of Food Science and Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou, China.
Junli ChenChina Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing, China.
Pu ChenChina Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing, China.
Nan XuChina Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing, China.
Wei LiuChina Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This article provides a scoping review of various types of functional factors and their mechanisms of action in enhancing physical strength and endurance, focusing on their roles in regulating the central nervous system, improving energy metabolism, reducing metabolite accumulation, enhancing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity, regulating the endocrine system, and improving blood circulation. For functional factors supported by sufficient human evidence, stratified application can be made according to their primary effects. Those applicable to strength-type sports include creatine, HMB, vitamin D, L-arginine, L-citrulline, L-carnitine, curcumin, epicatechin, and golden root extract. Those applicable to endurance-type sports include beta-alanine, taurine, iron, caffeine, eleutheroside, anthocyanins, powdered Montmorency tart cherry, and beetroot concentrate. Those applicable to mixed-discipline sports include BCAAs, glutamine, whey protein, coenzyme Q10, and magnesium. Mechanisms that specifically enhance physical strength include increased blood flow delivery via the NO-sGC-cGMP pathway, attenuation of central nervous system fatigue through LAT1-mediated tryptophan competition, and maintenance of calcium homeostasis via the SERCA-RyR1-VDAC1-MCU axis. Endurance-specific enhancement is achieved primarily by promoting type IIa muscle fiber formation through the AMPK/SIRT1/PGC1-α and PKA-CREB-ERRγ signaling axes. Functional factors that simultaneously improve both outcomes act through reducing oxidative stress via the Nrf2-Keap1-ARE network, regulating energy metabolism via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR and AMPK pathways, suppressing NF-κB-mediated inflammation, and optimizing the gut-liver-muscle axis. In addition, this article points out research challenges such as individual differences and experimental design limitations and suggests that the long-term safety of personalized sports nutrition strategies and functional factors needs to be further explored in the future. The review provides a scientific theoretical basis for sports training and health management, as well as an important reference for the development of novel sports nutrition programs.

Indexed as

endurance enhancementfunctional factorsnatural extractsphysical strength enhancementsports nutrition

Identifiers

PMID42211549
PMCPMC13212259

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.