The Effect of High-Doses of Taurine Ingestion on Time to Exhaustion Running Performance

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the effect of acutely consuming high-dose isolated 6 g of taurine 90 min before incremental treadmill-running time to exhaustion (TTE) performance on maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), maximal heart rate (HRmax), TTE, and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE). A total of ten well-trained, competitive male endurance (biathlon) athletes participated in this study. A double-blind, randomized crossover design was used in the study and consisted of three separate testing sessions. During the second and third sessions, 90 min before the exercise protocols, participants consumed ~500 ml of a sugar-free lemonade drink with either 6 g of taurine or nothing added (placebo). The incremental treadmill-running TTE performance started at 6km·h-1, and the participants warmed up for 6 minutes at this constant speed. After a warm-up, the treadmill's speed was increased by 0.016km/h per second, and the slope of the treadmill was increased by 0.5% for each 60 seconds. Oxygen uptake (VO2) and HR were measured while the participant was running on the treadmill. RPE was measured immediately after each trial using the Borg Scale (6-20 points). As a result, the acute ingestion of 6 g of taurine 90 min before incremental treadmill-running TTE performance did not enhance TTE, HRmax, and RPE but did result in a non-significant slight change in VO2max (2%).