The effect of 6 days of alpha glycerylphosphorylcholine on isometric strength

Abstract

BackgroundErgogenic aides are widely used by fitness enthusiasts and athletes to increase performance. Alpha glycerylphosphorylcholine (A-GPC) has demonstrated some initial promise in changing explosive performance. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine if 6 days of supplementation with A-GPC would augment isometric force production compared to a placebo.MethodsThirteen college-aged males (Means ± SD; Age: 21.9 ± 2.2 years, Height: 180.3 ± 7.7 cm, Weight: 87.6 ± 15.6 kg; VO2 max: 40.08 ± 7.23 ml O2*Kg−1*min−1, Body Fat: 17.5 ± 4.6 %) gave written informed consent to participate in the study. The study was a double blind, placebo controlled, cross-over design. The participants reported to the lab for an initial visit where they were familiarized with the isometric mid thigh pull in a custom squat cage on a force platform and upper body isometric test against a high frequency load cell, and baseline measurements were taken for both. The participant then consumed either 600 mg per day of A-GPC or placebo and at the end of 6 days performed isometric mid thigh pulls and an upper body isometric test. A one-week washout period was used before the participants’ baseline was re-measured and crossed over to the other treatment.ResultsThe A-GPC treatment resulted in significantly greater isometric mid thigh pull peak force change from baseline (t = 1.76, p = 0.044) compared with placebo (A-GPC: 98.8. ± 236.9 N vs Placebo: −39.0 ± 170.9 N). For the upper body test the A-GPC treatment trended towards greater change from baseline force production (A-GPC: 50.9 ± 167.2 N Placebo: −14.9 ± 114.9 N) but failed to obtain statistical significance (t = 1.16, p = 0.127).ConclusionsA-GPC is effective at increasing lower body force production after 6 days of supplementation. Sport performance coaches can consider adding A-GPC to the diet of speed and power athletes to enhance muscle performance.

Adaptations to excess choline in insulin resistant andPcyt2deficient skeletal muscle

“…High dietary choline and betaine intakes are significantly associated with favorable body composition in humans (Gao et al 2016) and Sachan et al 2005 demonstrated that choline supplementation lowers oxidative stress during exercise. Recently, 600 mg per day of alpha glycerylphosphorylcholine has been recommended to supplement the diets of speed and power athletes to enhance their muscle performance (Bellar et al 2015). In addition, betaine has been used as an ergogenic reagent to improve muscle performance and to increase body mass (Cholewa et al 2014), presumably by increasing circulating IGF levels leading to increased PI3K/Akt signaling (Senesi et al 2013).…”

Evaluation of the effects of two doses of alpha glycerylphosphorylcholine on physical and psychomotor performance

“…The group treatments consisted of two capsules per day for the 7 days of the study. The rational for the number of days of supplementation was based on earlier research on A-GPC [ 11 ]. Chemi Nutra (Austin TX) supplied all capsule for the study.…”

“…A large review of clinical studies on dementia or cerebrovascular disorders suggest favorable results for improved cognitive fucntion with A-GPC compared to control or placebo [ 9 ]. ACh is not only a neurotransmitter, but also responsible for the action potential that stimulates a muscle to contract and thus a role for augmenting performance associated with intense muscle contraction both for enhanced power and strength has been suggested for A-GPC [ 10 , 11 ]. The proposed mechanism would include increased ACh as a result of A-GPC ingestion, leading to a more pronounced signal for contraction that results in increased muscle force production.…”

“…The most recent study on A-GPC [ 11 ] examined the effects of 600 mg dose on muscle strength. In a group of 13 college aged men, administration of A-GPC resulted in an increase of 98.8 N during an isometric mid thigh pull assessment.…”

“…The 600 mg dose in this study was similar to that used in previous research that reported positive performance results [ 10 ]. One issue with the current research on A-GPC is the variation in doses, with some studies examining 1000 mg [ 7 ] and other studies examining A-GPC within a nutritional supplement at a dose of 150 mg [ 12 ] and variation in acute vs chronic administration [ 11 – 13 ]. The majority of studies use doses of around 600 mg in an acute fashion, although the only chronic dosing human performance study [ 11 ] reported changes in force production.…”