Effect Of L-citrulline On Muscle Recovery After Anaerobic And Aerobic Exercise

Abstract

PURPOSE: Previous research shows that acute L-citrulline (CT) supplementation improves anaerobic performance and reduces muscle soreness, suggesting it may improve muscle recovery following exercise. With a double blind crossover design, we evaluated the acute effect of CT supplementation on muscle recovery and cycling sprint and 2 mi time trial (TT) performance. METHODS: 22 college students (19.5 ± 1.3 y) completed a preliminary cycling VO2 max test (43.2 ± 10.8 ml/kg/min) and were then twice familiarized with the sprint test (4x12 s sprints at 5.5% of body mass, separated by 2.5 min of active recovery) and the TT; 48 h separated testing sessions. Approximately 5 d later and 1 hr before repeating the tests, 11 subjects consumed 6 g of CT, while the other 11 ingested 6 g of a cornstarch placebo (PT); to assess recovery, the tests were repeated 24 hr later. After a 1 wk washout, subjects repeated the tests with the other treatment. Data were analyzed with two-way repeated measures ANOVA; Bonferroni post-hoc analyses located specific differences. RESULTS: Table 1 shows mean power in watts (W) for maximum peak power (MPP), average peak power (APP), maximum mean power (MMP), and average mean power (AMP) for the sprint tests, and mean time in seconds and power (W) for the TT. CONCLUSION: Citrulline decreased aerobic performance, reducing TT power and increasing TT time relative to PT; CT did not affect anaerobic performance or muscle recovery. In contrast, 6 g or 24 kcal of cornstarch ingested 1 h before exercise improved sprint performance 24 h after a bout of similar exercise.Table: No title available.