Chen I-Fan, Wu Huey-June, Chen Chung-Yu, Chou Kuei-Ming, Chang Chen-Kang
Graduate Institute of Sport Coaching Science, Chinese Culture University, 55, Huagang Rd, Shilin District Taipei, 111 Taiwan.
Department of Physical Education, National Taiwan University of Sport, 16, Sec 1, Shuan-Shih Rd, Taichung, 404 Taiwan.
J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2016 Jul 13;13:28. doi: 10.1186/s12970-016-0140-0. eCollection 2016.
The decline in cognitive performance has been shown after fatiguing exercise. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) have been suggested to alleviate exercise-induced central fatigue. Arginine and citrulline could remove the excess NH3 accumulation accompanied with BCAA supplementation by increasing nitric oxide biosynthesis and/or urea cycle. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the combined supplementation of BCAA, arginine, and citrulline on central fatigue after three simulated matches in well-trained taekwondo athletes.
In a double-blind randomized cross-over design, 12 male taekwondo athletes performed two trials containing three simulated matches each. Each match contained three 2-min rounds of high-intensity intermittent exercise. At the end of the second match, two different supplementations were consumed. In the AA trial, the subjects ingested 0.17 g/kg BCAA, 0.05 g/kg arginine and 0.05 g/kg citrulline, while placebo was consumed in the PL trial. A validated taekwondo-specific reaction test battery was used to measure the cognitive performance after each match.
The premotor reaction time in the three single-task tests and the reaction time in the secondary task in the dual-task test were maintained in the AA trial after three matches, while they were impaired in the PL trial, resulting in significantly better performance in the AA trial. These improvements in the AA trial coincided with significantly lower plasma free tryptophan/BCAA ratio, increased NOx concentrations, and similar NH3 concentrations.
This study suggested that the combined supplementation could alleviate the exercise-induced central fatigue in elite athletes.
疲劳运动后认知能力会下降。支链氨基酸（BCAA）被认为可缓解运动引起的中枢疲劳。精氨酸和瓜氨酸可通过增加一氧化氮生物合成和/或尿素循环来消除补充BCAA时伴随的过量氨积累。本研究旨在探讨补充BCAA、精氨酸和瓜氨酸对训练有素的跆拳道运动员进行三场模拟比赛后的中枢疲劳的影响。
采用双盲随机交叉设计，12名男性跆拳道运动员进行两项试验，每项试验包含三场模拟比赛。每场比赛包含三轮2分钟的高强度间歇运动。在第二场比赛结束时，运动员服用两种不同的补充剂。在AA试验中，受试者摄入0.17 g/kg BCAA、0.05 g/kg精氨酸和0.05 g/kg瓜氨酸，而在PL试验中服用安慰剂。使用经过验证的特定于跆拳道的反应测试组合来测量每场比赛后的认知能力。
在三场比赛后，AA试验中三个单任务测试的运动前反应时间和双任务测试中次要任务的反应时间保持不变，而在PL试验中这些时间受到损害，导致AA试验中的表现明显更好。AA试验中的这些改善与血浆游离色氨酸/BCAA比值显著降低、NOx浓度升高以及氨浓度相似相一致。
本研究表明，联合补充可以缓解精英运动员运动引起的中枢疲劳。
