Effect of a carbohydrate mouth rinse on maximal sprint performance in competitive male cyclists

Abstract

There is evidence that rinsing the mouth with a carbohydrate (CHO) solution can improve endurance performance. The goal of this study was to investigate whether a CHO mouth rinse can improve the performance of a maximal sprint effort. Fourteen competitive male cyclists (64.0 ± 5.6 mL kg −1 min −1 (mean ± SD)) each completed the following 5-s mouth rinse trials in a randomised counter-balanced order; (a) 6.4% maltodextrin solution [Mal], (b) 7.1% glucose solution [Glu], (c) water [Wa] and (d) a control trial with no rinse [Con]. Each participant then performed a 30-s maximal sprint effort on a cycle ergometer. Glu, Mal and Wa trials were not significantly different from Con across all indicators of sprint performance (maximal power output, mean power output over 0–30, 0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 s), nausea or fatigue level ( p > 0.05). These findings suggest that the use of a 5-s mouth rinse with an isoenergetic amount of either maltodextrin or glucose is not beneficial for maximal sprint performance.