BOONE, N.C. — Does ingesting a combination of caffeine and flavonoids boost a woman’s resting metabolic rate? A $89,214 grant to Appalachian State University’s Dr. David Nieman may find out.

Nieman, a professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science, along with Drs. Jennifer McBride and Jomari Torres, will conduct a clinical trial to evaluate the effects of ingesting a caffeine-flavonoid mixture on energy expenditure and fat oxidation in healthy adult women. This research is funded by Reoxcyn Discoveries Group Inc., which awarded Nieman with the grant.

McBride is a research scientist at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis who collaborates with the Beaver College of Health Sciences’ Department of Health and Exercise Science, and Torres is the human research core medical director at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Nutrition Research Institute.

Nieman said the purpose of the team’s research is to “measure the effect of ingesting four capsules containing 214 milligrams of caffeine and a variety of flavonoids (658 mg total), including green tea catechins and quercetin and bilberry anthocyanins, on an individual’s RMR and level of fat burning.”

Nieman explained the study will be accomplished by having participants stay in a specially equipped, small hotel-like room (called a metabolic chamber) for two separate days — one day consuming the caffeine-flavonoid capsules, and a second day consuming placebo capsules.

“Resting metabolic rate (RMR) or metabolism is defined as the calories an individual burns each day to keep alive during sleep and seated rest. If a person consumes 100 milligrams of caffeine or what is found in one cup of coffee, their RMR will increase about 11 calories per day,” according to Nieman.

He added, “Other molecules found in food called flavonoids can also increase RMR. For example, 100 milligrams of green tea catechins, or what is found in a small cup of brewed green tea, increases RMR by about 13 calories per day. Other flavonoids found in the skins of apples and onions (quercetin) and in berries (anthocyanins) may also increase RMR, but more research is needed.”

About the Beaver College of Health Sciences

Appalachian State University’s Beaver College of Health Sciences (BCHS), opened in 2010, is transforming the health and quality of life for the communities it serves through interprofessional collaboration and innovation in teaching, scholarship, service and clinical outreach. The college enrolls more than 3,600 students and offers 10 undergraduate degree programs, nine graduate degree programs and four certificates across seven departments: Kinesiology, Nursing, Nutrition and Health Care Management, Public Health, Recreation Management and Physical Education, Rehabilitation Sciences, and Social Work. The college’s academic programs are located in the Holmes Convocation Center on App State’s main campus and the Levine Hall of Health Sciences, a state-of-the-art, 203,000-square-foot facility that is the cornerstone of Boone’s Wellness District. In addition, the college supports the Appalachian Institute for Health and Wellness and has collaborative partnerships with the Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s Physician Assistant Program, UNC Health Appalachian and numerous other health agencies. Learn more at https://healthsciences.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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