Capsaicin supplementation increases time to exhaustion in high-intensity intermittent exercise without modifying metabolic responses in physically active men

Capsaicin analog supplementation is not effective to improve 10-km running time-trial performance in amateur athletes: a randomized, crossover, double-blind and placebo-controlled study

“…Our previous studies [12][13][14] demonstrated bene ts of acute CAP application in physically active subjects but not in the current study with amateur athletes.…”

“…The dose of capsaicin is not well established in humans. Previous studies from our research group found an improvement in performance applying 12 mg of CAP 45 minutes before different types of exercise and protocols (400 meters; 1.500 meters; 3.000 meters and high-intensity intermittent exercise) in physically active men [12][13][14]. Additionally, improvements in combined exercise protocols, such as 5-km running plus strength exercise were detected applying 24 mg of CAP in two doses of 12 mg with 45 minutes interval between doses [15].…”

“…On the other hand, Padilha et al [22] observed that the acute CAP supplementation did neither increase time to exhaustion during high-intensity continuous exercise at 90% of VȮ 2peak (90% sVȮ 2peak ) and nor alter physiological responses in runners. Despite several studies investigating the potential effect of CAP on performance primarily in rodents [23], short and middle-distances [13,21] or high-intensity intermittent exercises in human [12,24] no information is available beyond a certain distance about the effects of the CAP supplementation. Furthermore, previous studies demonstrating the bene ts of CAP on performance were conducted in physically active men, therefore, however there is a lack of studies investigating the effect in experienced runners.…”

Can taste be ergogenic?

“…To date, only four studies have investigated the ergogenic properties of capsaicin ingestion [64,65,66] or mouth swilling [12] in humans, and as such an array of protocols, dosages and performance measures have been assessed. Three studies have investigated the effect of acute supplementation of capsaicin (12 mg) 45 min prior to athletic performance in a 1500-m running time trial [65], four sets of 70% 1RM repeated squats to failure [13], and time to exhaustion during repeated 15-s treadmill running at 120% VO with 15-s rest intervals [66]. Capsaicin supplementation improved 1500-m time-trial performance (CAP 371.6 ± 40.8 s vs. Pla 376.7 ± 39 s), total mass lifted (CAP 3,919.4 ± 1,227.4 kg vs. Pla 3,179.6 ± 942.4 kg) and time to exhaustion (CAP 1530 ± 515 s vs. Pla 1342 ± 446 s) compared to placebo.…”

Capsaicin Analog Supplementation is not Effective to Improve 10-km Running Time-Trial Performance in Amateur Athletes: A Randomized, Crossover, Double-Blind and Placebo-Controlled Study

“…The dose of capsaicin in studies remains not well established for humans. Previously studies from our research group have used 12 mg of CAP 45 minutes before the exercise trials and there was found an improvement in performance for short duration aerobic exercise (Costa et al, 2020;de Freitas, Billaut, et al, 2019; Freitas et al, 2018) and in combined exercise protocol (5-km running plus strength exercise), was 24 mg of CAP in two doses of 12 mg with 45 minutes interval between doses (de Freitas, Cholewa, et al, 2019).…”