Herbal medicine for sports: a review.

The use of herbal medicinal products and supplements has increased during last decades. At present, some herbs are used to enhance muscle strength and body mass. Emergent evidence suggests that the health benefits from plants are attributed to their bioactive compounds such as Polyphenols, Terpenoids, and Alkaloids which have several physiological effects on the human body. At times, manufacturers launch numerous products with banned ingredient inside with inappropriate amounts or fake supplement inducing harmful side effect. Unfortunately up to date, there is no guarantee that herbal supplements are safe for anyone to use and it has not helped to clear the confusion surrounding the herbal use in sport field especially. Hence, the purpose of this review is to provide guidance on the efficacy and side effect of most used plants in sport. We have identified plants according to the following categories: Ginseng, alkaloids, and other purported herbal ergogenics such as Tribulus Terrestris, Cordyceps Sinensis. We found that most herbal supplement effects are likely due to activation of the central nervous system via stimulation of catecholamines. Ginseng was used as an endurance performance enhancer, while alkaloids supplementation resulted in improvements in sprint and cycling intense exercises. Despite it is prohibited, small amount of ephedrine was usually used in combination with caffeine to enhance muscle strength in trained individuals. Some other alkaloids such as green tea extracts have been used to improve body mass and composition in athletes. Other herb (i.e. Rhodiola, Astragalus) help relieve muscle and joint pain, but results about their effects on exercise performance are missing.

Biomotor status and kinesiological education of students aged 13 to 15 years - example: karate.

The aim of this paper was to obtain information relevant for efficient selection in karate, based on comparison of biomotor status of male/female 7th and 8th grade students in primary school "Bijaci" from Kastel Novi and karate practitioners and non-practitioners (cadets) in Croatia. For this purpose, a sample was drawn of 352 primary school students (150 males and 152 females) and 50 karate practitioners (25 males and 25 females), all aged 13 to 15 years, and 2 morphological measures (body height and body mass) and a battery of 6 motor tests was used. A biomotor system which determines the situation efficacy in male and female karate practitioners was defined based on the comparison of test results of students from Kastela, Croatian karateka and Croatian standards, factor analysis of applied variables and discriminant analysis of those variables between karate athletes and students from Kastela. In male karate athletes, general motor efficacy in karate is based on explosive strength of jumping type, repetitive strength of the trunk and coordination, followed by flexibility, static strength of the arms, and movement frequency speed. In female karate athletes, integration of force, coordination, muscle tone regulation and speed is dominant for achieving success in karate. Female karate athletes use speed and fine muscle tone regulation in motor functioning more than male karate athletes, who use basic strength more.