Citrulline malate supplementation does not improve German Volume Training performance or reduce muscle soreness in moderately trained males and females

Abstract

BackgroundUse of supplements to aid performance is common practice amongst recreationally active individuals, including those without a sufficient evidence base. This investigation sought to assess whether acute supplementation with 8 g of citrulline malate (CM) (1.11: 1 ratio) would improve anaerobic performance.MethodsA randomised double blind placebo control trial was employed, using a counterbalanced design. We recruited recreationally active men and women to take part in an isokinetic chair protocol, based on German Volume Training (GVT) whereby participants attempted to perform 10 sets of 10 repetitions against a force representing 70% of their peak concentric force.ResultsThe number of repetitions achieved over the course of the GVT was 94.0 ± 7.9 and 90.9 ± 13.9 for placebo and CM respectively. There was no significant difference between the placebo and CM treatment for number of repetitions (P = 0.33), isometric (P = 0.60), concentric (P = 0.38), or eccentric (P = 0.65) peak force following the GVT. Total muscle soreness was significantly higher in the CM compared to the placebo treatment following the GVT protocol over 72 h (P = 0.01); although this was not accompanied by a greater workload/number of repetitions in the CM group.ConclusionsWe conclude that an acute dose of CM does not significantly affect anaerobic performance using an isokinetic chair in recreational active participants. Practical implications include precaution in recommending CM supplementation. Coaches and athletes should be aware of the disparity between the chemical analyses of the products reviewed in the present investigation versus the manufacturers’ claims.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12970-018-0245-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Nutritional and Supplementation Strategies to Prevent and Attenuate Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage: a Brief Review

“…da Silva et al [48] also reported that acute citrulline malate supplementation (6 g) did not affect subjective soreness or serum CK compared to placebo during the 72 h following damaging (a main effect for time was observed for soreness and CK) leg press and hack squat exercise (3 × 8–12, 90% 10RM, 2 s eccentric contraction). Finally, a 2018 study [49] found that acute citrulline malate supplementation (~ 4.2 g citrulline) increased perceived soreness compared to placebo during the 72-h period after isokinetic knee extensions (10 × 10, 70%MVC) in resistance-trained males and females (Table 1).…”

Effect of L-citrulline intake on intermittent short-time high-intensity exercise performance in male collegiate track athletes

“…Bescós et al 4) reported that NO supplementation in untrained or moderately trained healthy participants showed positive effects on aerobic and anaerobic exercise tolerance, but not in highly trained participants. On the other hand, some studies concluded that single CM supplementation (6 or 8 g) prior to anaerobic, high-intensity, or resistance exercise, did not improve the performance or reduce fatigue in moderately or recreationally trained or untrained participants [23][24][25] . Cit supplementation of 3 g/day for 7 days in healthy and active, but not highly trained university level male collegiate track athletes, showed positive effects on exercise performance in the Wingate test in the present study.…”

“…Previous studies showed that single CM supplementation of 8 g enhanced high-intensity anaerobic exercise performance [17][18][19] , and Cit supplementation of 2.4 or 6 g/day for 1 week enhanced aerobic cycling exercise performance 20,21) . On the other hand, single CM (6 -12 g) or Cit (6 g) supplementation showed no effect on exercise performance [22][23][24][25][26] . Thus, to date, only two studies have reported positive effects on exercise performance using a low dose (< 3 g) of Cit supplementation 20,27) .…”

The Physiological Effects of Amino Acids Arginine and Citrulline: Is There a Basis for Development of a Beverage to Promote Endurance Performance? A Narrative Review of Orally Administered Supplements

“…Relatively recent studies have investigated the effects of both L-Arg and L-Cit supplementation on physiological responses and improving exercise performance [9,10,26,27,35,44,[46][47][48]. Exercise intensity (i.e., velocity or power output) refers to the amount of work that can be accomplished to perform a given activity, often expressed as a percentage of an individual's VO 2max , or maximal power output, both typically measured using incremental exercise testing [49].…”