The Effects of Acute L-carnitine Supplementation on Endurance Performance of Athletes

Abstract

This study examined the effect of acute L-carnitine loading on the endurance performance of footballers. Measurements were performed on 26 candidate professional footballers who volunteered to take part in the study. Athletes were given a glass of fruit juice 1 hour before applying L-carnitine with the double-blind method. Then, 12 participants were given 3 g of L-carnitine (LK-3) and the remaining 14 were given 4 g (LK-4). Athletes began the exercise test at a running speed of 8 km·h and then continued at 10 km·h. The speed was increased 1 km·h every 3 minutes, and the test continued until the subject chose to quit. Heart rate was registered using a portable telemetric heart rate monitor during the test. Blood samples were taken from the earlobes of the footballers both before the test and before the speed increase (during the 1-minute interval), and the lactate (La) concentration was measured electroenzymatically. The test was repeated after 1 week as a group of placebos (P-3 and P-4). The result showed that the running speeds corresponding to specific La concentrations were increased, and La and heart rate responses to the running speeds were decreased in both supplemented groups compared with placebos (p ≤ 0.05). A significant reduction in heart rate was found in LK-4 and P-4 (p ≤ 0.05). When the Borg responses to the running speeds were analyzed, a significant difference was found in both supplemented groups (p ≤ 0.05). The results show that 3 or 4 g of L-carnitine taken before physical exercise prolonged exhaustion.

Metabolic profiling of elite athletes with different cardiovascular demand

“…Additionally, accumulation of acylated carnitine may reflect a superior exercise recovery than athletes in the high CD group as carnitine can lower plasma lactate and prolonged exhaustion. 40 Interestingly, four DAGs containing oleic acid, C18:1 (arachidonic acid precursor), were increased in this group (Table S1). The hypotensive effect of oleic acid may partially explain its increase in this group that is characterized by lower blood pressure.…”

“…These changes suggest that low/moderate CD athletes exhibit a higher beta‐oxidation of fatty acids for energy generation, thus a greater potential to activate lipolysis during exercise than their counterpart in the high CD group. Additionally, accumulation of acylated carnitine may reflect a superior exercise recovery than athletes in the high CD group as carnitine can lower plasma lactate and prolonged exhaustion . Interestingly, four DAGs containing oleic acid, C18:1 (arachidonic acid precursor), were increased in this group (Table ).…”

Effects of Supplementation of a Pre-workout on Power Maintenance in Lower Body and Upper Body Tasks in Women

“…Improvements in cognitive performance have also been shown from pre-workout components other than caffeine. Choline bitartrate has shown to have an acutely positive effect on cognitive performance [17] while huperzine at 50 mg has shown to improve learning and memory performance [18]. Although these findings are promising, the positive effects have been primarily demonstrated in the animal model [19].…”

Specific features of amino acid metabolism in young athletes

“…Кар-нитин -вещество, которое необходимо для под-держания метаболических процессов в клетке и со-хранности тканей. Большинство клеток организма обладает способностью синтезировать эндоген-ный карнитин в течение всей жизни [5] поступает с пищей или синтезируется из незамени-мых аминокислот лизина и метионина [4,6]. Поэтому наличие корреляции между содержанием карнитина и определенных аминокислот может играть важную роль при изучении работоспособности и восстанови-тельных процессов у юных спортсменов.…”

“…Незаменимые аминокислоты с раз-ветвленной углеродной цепью -лейцин, изолей-цин, валин, в отличие от других, метаболизируются не в печени, а в мышцах, поэтому считаются основ-ным энергетическим субстратом для мышц. Кроме того, они препятствуют снижению уровня серотонина и являются одним из главных источников для синтеза тканей тела [3,6]. Таким образом, изучение содержа-ния аминокислот и карнитина в крови позволит про-гнозировать состояние работоспособности у юных спортсменов.…”