Review protocol for leaf extracts on EIMD

<b>Background</b> Strenuous activities can cause exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD), particularly those that involve unfamiliar exercises. The typical signs and symptoms of EIMD include increased intra-muscular proteins, delayed onset muscle soreness and impaired muscular contractility. Thus, these signs and symptoms may compromise the quality of training and induce sub-optimal training adaptations. More recently, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents of leaf extracts, such as tea leaves and herbs, has been reported to minimise the signs and symptoms of EIMD. However, several studies have also reported equivocal findings, possibly due to variation in study designs. A systematic exploration of the literature that addresses these methodological limitations may provide the overall benefit of ingesting leaf extracts for recovery, although a thorough investigation has yet to be determined. Thus, the purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis will collate findings from various studies that have reported on the effects of BCAA supplementation on markers of EIMD.

**背景**：高强度运动可诱发运动诱导性肌肉损伤（exercise-induced muscle damage, EIMD），其中涉及不熟悉运动动作的活动尤为明显。EIMD的典型体征与症状包括肌内蛋白水平升高、延迟性肌肉酸痛以及肌肉收缩功能受损，此类表现会损害训练质量，并引发不佳的训练适应性。近年来有研究表明，茶叶、草本植物等叶片提取物所具备的抗氧化与抗炎活性，可缓解EIMD的相关体征与症状；但另有多项研究得出了不一致的结果，其潜在原因可能在于各研究的设计存在差异。针对此类方法学局限开展系统性文献梳理，或可明确摄入叶片提取物促进运动后恢复的整体获益，但目前相关全面研究仍未完成。因此，本项系统综述与荟萃分析旨在整合各项已报道支链氨基酸（branched-chain amino acids, BCAA）补充干预对EIMD标志物影响的研究结果。