Mitochondrial biogenesis is the process by which new mitochondria are formed in the cell. The mitochondria is a key regulator of the metabolic activity of the cell, and is also an important for fat metabolism. The muscle mitochondria increase during cardiovascular exercise training plays an important role in the increase in maximal O2 uptake, in addition there is a shift in substrate utilization toward increased oxidation of fat. The more mitochondria a person has the more fat that can be utilized, in fact many drug companies are actively pursuing drugs that can create more mitochondria to prevent obesity. More mitochondria mean more fat mobilization so increasing mitochondria is a good thing for burning fat. In addition to doing cardio which increases mitochondrial biogenesis or the birth of mitochondria, researchers from University of South Carolina found that adding quercetin to your supplement stack the last few weeks may help peel off some fat as well as improving your exercise stamina and reducing fatigue. Quercetin is one of the most abundant natural flavonoids, its present in a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and berries. These compounds have been shown to possess multiple biological properties including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity and, perhaps most exciting, the ability to increase mitochondrial biogenesis. Another good thing about quercetin is that it has psychostimulant properties. Quercetin, like caffeine, is an adenosine-A1-receptor antagonist and can cause a delay in fatigue that occurs with caffeine results at least in part from its ability to block adenosine receptors in the brain. Quercetin may give you some of the same psychostimulant properties of caffeine without the side effects as increasing heart rate or blood pressure. The researchers had 12 volunteers assigned to 1 of 2 treatments: (a) 500 mg of quercetin twice daily dissolved in vitamin-enriched Tang or (b) a non-distinguishable placebo (Tang). Baseline oxygen consumption and bike-ride times to fatigue were established. Amazingly, they found that dietary supplementation with quercetin (500 mg twice daily for just 7 days) increased both oxygen consumption and endurance capacity in healthy participants. The researchers speculated that it could be due to quercetin’s ability to increase mitochondrial biogenesis which causes an increase in mitochondria which enhance fat oxidation or it also be quercetin’s ability to stimulate the same receptors as caffeine and delay fatigue.
source:musculardevelopment.com
