Sodium Phosphate as an Ergogenic Aid

Abstract

Legal nutritional ergogenic aids can offer athletes an additional avenue to enhance their performance beyond what they can achieve through training. Consequently, the investigation of new nutritional ergogenic aids is constantly being undertaken. One emerging nutritional supplement that has shown some positive benefits for sporting performance is sodium phosphate. For ergogenic purposes, sodium phosphate is supplemented orally in capsule form, at a dose of 3-5 g/day for a period of between 3 and 6 days. A number of exercise performance-enhancing alterations have been reported to occur with sodium phosphate supplementation, which include an increased aerobic capacity, increased peak power output, increased anaerobic threshold and improved myocardial and cardiovascular responses to exercise. A range of mechanisms have been posited to account for these ergogenic effects. These include enhancements in 2,3-Diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) concentrations, myocardial efficiency, buffering capacity and adenosine triphosphate/phosphocreatine synthesis. Whilst there is evidence to support the ergogenic benefits of sodium phosphate, many studies researching this substance differ in terms of the administered dose and dosing protocol, the washout period employed and the fitness level of the participants recruited. Additionally, the effect of gender has received very little attention in the literature. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to critically examine the use of sodium phosphate as an ergogenic aid, with a focus on identifying relevant further research.

Beneficial effects of creatine phosphate sodium for the treatment of Henoch–Schönlein purpura in patients with early renal damage detected using urinary kidney injury molecule-1 levels

“…CP is an endogenous, bioactive molecule that is mainly synthesized in the kidney. It plays dual roles in the storage and transfer of ATP in energy metabolism [7], and thus provides energy for the body. CP is rapidly decomposed to provide energy in the presence of oxygen and suppresses the generation of multiple acidic toxic substances, maintaining a stable intracellular environment and promoting cellular repair [33].…”

Effect of sodium phosphate supplementation on repeated high-intensity cycling efforts

“…Notably, the mechanisms proposed to contribute to the benefit of sodium phosphate supplementation for exercise performance relate to all energy systems as discussed below (and reviewed in Buck, Wallman, Dawson, & Guelfi, 2013).…”

Effects of sodium phosphate and caffeine loading on repeated-sprint ability

“…Another factor that may have improved aerobic energy contribution during these later repeated-sprint ability sets is enhanced RBC 2,3-DPG concentration (Buck, Wallman, Dawson, & Guelfi, 2013;Czuba et al, 2009). To date, a number of studies have reported improved exercise capacity ( _ VO 2max ) following sodium phosphate supplementation associated with an increase in 2,3-DPG concentration (Cade et al, 1984;Czuba et al, 2009;Stewart et al, 1990).…”

“…Another mechanism associated with sodium phosphate loading that may have improved aerobic metabolism during the latter repeated-sprint ability sets is improved myocardial efficiency, which is proposed to result in greater stroke volume leading to greater oxygenation of the exercising muscles (Buck et al, 2013). Interestingly, maximal heart rate associated with improved _ VO 2max (Czuba et al, 2009) and 40-km cycle time-trial performance (Kreider et al, 1992) has been found to be both significantly lower (Czuba et al, 2009) and higher (Kreider et al, 1992) after sodium phosphate loading compared with placebo.…”