A significant improvement in CP was observed in the Cr group (6.72% +/- 2.54%), whereas PL showed no significant change (3.87% +/- 2.30%), and CON significantly decreased (6.27% +/- 2.38%). Furthermore, no changes in AWC were observed in any of the groups after treatment. The current findings suggest that Cr supplementation may enhance the effects of intense interval endurance training on endurance performance changes.

All subjects swam faster after either dietary loading regimen (p < 0.01, both regimens); however, there was no difference in the extent of improvement of performance between groups. In addition, all swimmers continued to produce faster swim times for up to 4 weeks after intervention. Our findings suggest that no performance advantage was gained from the addition of carbohydrate to a creatine-loading regimen in these high-caliber swimmers.

Although Cr influenced key modulators of brain 5-HT and DA function and reduced various thermophysiological parameters which all may have contributed to the reduced effort perception during exercise in the heat, performance was improved only in the "responders" to Cr supplementation. The present results may also suggest the demanding of the pre-experimental identification of the participants into "responders" and "non-responders" to Cr supplementation before performing the main experimentation. Otherwise, the possibility of the type II error may be enhanced.

Although the greater relative improvements in PT and ACC for the CRE group were not statistically significant, these findings may be useful for rehabilitation or strength and conditioning professionals who may need to rapidly increase the strength of a patient or athlete within 9 days.

Basal muscle TCr content was lower (P < 0.05) in VEG compared with NVEG. Muscle TCr increased (P < 0.05) throughout the Cr trial in both groups but was greater (P < 0.05) in VEG compared with NVEG, at days 1 and 5. CreaT gene expression was not different between VEG and NVEG. The results indicate that VEG have a lower muscle TCr content and an increased capacity to load Cr into muscle following CrS. Muscle CreaT gene expression does not appear to be affected by vegetarianism.

Before the supplementation period, a significant increase in the urinary 8-OHdG excretion and plasma MDA levels was observed after RE. The Cr supplementation induces a significant increase in athletics performance, and it attenuated the changes observed in the urinary 8-OHdG excretion and plasma MDA. These results indicate that Cr supplementation reduced oxidative DNA damage and lipid peroxidation induced by a single bout of RE.

Body weight, handgrip, dorsiflexion, and knee extensor strength were measured before and after treatment. Creatine administration increased all measured indices in both studies. Short-term creatine monohydrate increased high-intensity strength significantly in patients with neuromuscular disease.

Cr supplementation augments repeated sprint cycle performance in the heat without altering thermoregulatory responses.

CR supplementation improves physical function, lower limb lean mass, and quality of life in postmenopausal women with knee OA undergoing strengthening exercises.

Cr supplementation inhibited the increase of inflammation markers TNF-α and CRP, but not oxidative stress markers, due to acute exercise.

Cr supplementation may increase fat mass and serum triglycerides concentration in young male TKD practitioners without improvement in anaerobic power. Cr supplementation appears to be safe, but athletes should be careful when they want to loss fat.

Creatine monohydrate supplementation did not improve body composition or muscle strength when given before surgery, nor did it enhance recovery after TKA.

Creatine monohydrate supplementation helps to improve strength and body composition while resistance training. Data from this study assist in determining the potential role the addition of D-pinitol to creatine may aid in facilitating training adaptations to exercise.

Creatine supplementation is not effective in improving selected factors of tennis specific performance and should not be recommended to tennis players.

Creatine supplementation led to increases in fat-free mass, peripheral muscle strength and endurance, health status, but not exercise capacity. Creatine may constitute a new ergogenic treatment in COPD.

Creatine supplementation plus resistance exercise increases fat-free mass and strength. Based on the magnitude inferences it appears that consuming creatine immediately post-workout is superior to pre-workout vis a vis body composition and strength.

CrM supplementation did not increase any of the outcome measurements except for plasma creatinine concentration (but not creatinine clearance). Thus, CrM supplementation at 5 g daily does not have any effects on muscle strength, body composition, or activities of daily living in patients with DM1, perhaps because of a failure of the supplementation to increase muscle PCr/beta-ATP content.

ES was greater for changes in lean body mass following short-term CS, repetitive-bout laboratory-based exercise tasks < or = 30 s (e.g., isometric, isokinetic, and isotonic resistance exercise), and upper-body exercise. CS does not appear to be effective in improving running and swimming performance. There is no evidence in the literature of an effect of gender or training status on ES following CS.

Further, the Cr and Mg(2+)-Cr groups were similar in both performance tests, suggesting that the proposed mechanism of entry is no better than the conventional method when 2.5 g of Cr is administered and performance is measured as work. This study raises the possibility that a low dose of Cr may be an effective means of enhancing performance after short-term ingestion.

Given the equivalent performance improvement and the absence of weight gain, the carbohydrate supplementation could be considered the preferred option for weight-conscious power athletes involved in activities that require repeated- motion high-intensity activities.

However, 2 days of supplementation was not sufficient to produce similar performance gains as that observed at the end of 5 days of loading in trained men, despite increases in creatine uptake in the body. The standard 5-day loading regime should hence be prescribed to individuals supplementing with creatine for enhanced strength and power.

However, exercise also diminished CHO-mediated insulin release, which may have attenuated insulin-mediated muscle Cr accumulation. Ingesting Cr with CHO also augmented glycogen supercompensation in the exercised muscle.

However, this study provides no evidence that creatine will prove beneficial after long-term treatment, or have any positive effect on patient lifespan.

In addition, creatine supplementation appears to be effective for maintaining muscular performance during the initial phase of high-volume resistance training overreaching that otherwise results in small performance decrements.

In conclusion, creatine monohydrate (5 g/d) did not have an obvious benefit on the multiple markers of disease progression measured over nine months. We measured fatigue during isometric contraction and found no significant improvement despite anecdotal patient reports prior to and during the study. The trend toward improved survival was also found in another recently completed blinded trial using creatine monohydrate. Further investigation on the possible survival benefit of creatine in this patient population is ongoing.

In conclusion, CrMS likely improved repeated BJ height capability without influencing the magnitude of muscular fatigue in these elite, university-level volleyball players.

In conclusion, HIIT is an effective and time-efficient way to improve maximal endurance performance. The addition of Cr improved VT, but did not increase TWD. Therefore, 10 g of Cr per day for five days per week for four weeks does not seem to further augment maximal oxygen consumption, greater than HIIT alone; however, Cr supplementation may improve submaximal exercise performance.

In conclusion, our preliminary results have demonstrated that supplementation temporary increases maximal isometric power in ALS patients so it may be of potential benefit in situations such as high intensity activity and it can be proposed as a symptomatic treatment.

In conclusion, we reported that betaine supplementation does not augment muscle PCr content. Furthermore, we showed that betaine supplementation combined or not with creatine supplementation does not affect strength and power performance in untrained subjects.

In conclusion, when compared to creatine monohydrate, creatine ethyl ester was not as effective at increasing serum and muscle creatine levels or in improving body composition, muscle mass, strength, and power. Therefore, the improvements in these variables can most likely be attributed to the training protocol itself, rather than the supplementation regimen.

In particular, phosphocreatine (PCr)/ATP at rest did not increase, and there was no facilitation of post-exercise PCr recovery. Clinical scores and laboratory tests did not alter significantly under Cr, which was tolerated without major side-effects in all patients. Cr supplementation did not improve skeletal muscle oxidative phosphorylation in our series of patients. However, one explanation for our negative findings may be the short study duration or the limited number of patients included.

It is concluded that creatine supplementation enhances total power output during the repeated bouts of supramaximal exercise separated by short resting intervals.

It is concluded that oral creatine supplementation stimulates muscle hypertrophy during rehabilitative strength training. This effect may be mediated by a creatine-induced change in MRF4 and myogenin expression.

It is suggested that a muscle's glycogen loading capacity is influenced by its initial levels of creatine and the accompanying alterations in cell volume.

Men aged 48 to 72 years maintained their ability to improve isokinetic muscle function following isotonic training, however, supplementation did not enhance muscle adaptability.

MRS-measured skeletal muscle PCr and TCr increased linearly and in parallel throughout the 5 d, and there was no significant difference in the percentage increase in muscle PCr (11.7% +/- 2.3% after 5 d) vs. TCr (14.9% +/- 4.1%) at any time point. The results indicate that creatine supplementation does not alter the PCr:TCr ratio, and hence the cytoplasmic Gibbs free energy of ATP hydrolysis, in human skeletal muscle at rest.

Myostatin and GASP-1 was measured. Resistance training caused significant decrease in serum levels of myostatin and increase in that of GASP-1. Creatine supplementation in conjunction with resistance training lead to greater decreases in serum myostatin (p<0.05), but had not additional effect on GASP-1 (p>0.05). The effects of resistance training on serum levels of myostatin and GASP-1, may explain the increased muscle mass that is amplified by creatine supplementation.

No changes were found in the fatigue test by the Pla group, whereas Cre group showed a tendency for an increase. The aerobic and anaerobic capacities of the organism did not decrease in both groups. Thus the creatine supplementation during strength training potentates an increase of force-velocity characteristics of trained muscle group without impeding aerobic capacity of the organism.

No significant changes were found for PL on any of the measured variables. No adverse side-effects were reported by either group. Short-term creatine supplementation resulted in an increase in strength, power, and lower-body motor functional performance in older women without any adverse side effects.

No significant treatment (p > 0.05) or treatment by test interaction effects (p > 0.05) were observed for peak or minimum power output (W), peak or minimum running velocity (m.s(-1)), or fatigue index (%). No significant differences (p > 0.05) were found postsupplementation for body mass and percentage body fat. Although statistical significance was not achieved for any of the measured parameters, there were small improvements in performance that may be of benefit to rugby players.

Oral creatine supplementation at 2 g daily has no effect on muscle creatine concentration, muscle oxygen supply or muscle aerobic or anaerobic metabolism during endurance exercise.

Oral creatine supplementation in combination with exercise training showed no significant improvement in physical performance, measured as ESWT, in patients with COPD compared with exercise training alone.

Our pilot study suggests, that creatine supplementation should be further evaluated as a possible clinically beneficial adjuvant therapy for patients with CF to increase muscle strength, body-weight and well-being.

Pl groups over the 10 weeks. The results indicate that Cr supplementation combined with 10 weeks of concurrent resistance training may not improve strength or lean body mass greater than training only. These findings may be a result of nonresponders due to gender differences or a varying biological potential to uptake Cr within the muscle.

Raising muscle total Cr content before exercise appears to improve the ability of the muscle to maintain energy balance during intense aerobic exercise, but not during more moderate exercise intensities.

Resistance exercise improved muscle size, strength and function in HIV-infected men. While creatine supplementation produced a greater increase in LBM, it did not augment the robust increase in strength derived from PRT.

Resistance training in middle-aged and older men significantly increased muscular strength and added muscle mass with no additional benefits from creatine and/or protein supplementation.

Resting testosterone concentrations were elevated in C, however, no other significant endocrine changes were noted. Results of this study demonstrate the efficacy of creatine and creatine plus beta-alanine on strength performance. Creatine plus beta-alanine supplementation appeared to have the greatest effect on lean tissue accruement and body fat composition.

Results (2 x 5 ANOVA) showed no significant differences between groups for AWC at any time point; however, BW was significantly increased at 10 days in the CPS group (1.0 kg) vs. PL (0.0 kg), and remained elevated for the duration of the study. These findings suggest that a single 5 g x d(-1) dose of CPS for 30 days increases BW but is not effective for increasing AWC in men.

Results revealed no significant differences between the group means for sprint times or between 10-s maximal leg ergometry power and work. This study does not support the hypothesis that creatine supplementation enhances single-effort sprint ability of elite swimmers.

Smaller doses of PEG creatine (1.25 and 2.50 g.d) improved muscle strength (1RMBP and 1RMLP) to the same extent as 5 g.d of CM, but did not alter BM, power output, or endurance. When compared to the PL group, neither CM nor PEG creatine supplementation improved peak power output (CVJ or PP), MP, or muscle endurance (REPBP or REPLP). Thus, PEG creatine may have ergogenic effects that are comparable to those of CM, but with a smaller dose of creatine.

Sprint performance was enhanced by Cr loading. Peak power and mean power were significantly higher during the intermittent sprint exercise test following 6 days of Cr supplementation. It appears that ingestion of Cr for 6 days does not produce any different thermoregulatory responses to intermittent sprint exercise and may augment sprint exercise performance in the heat.

Supplementing with Cr after training of the arms resulted in greater increase in muscle thickness of the arms. Males have a greater increase in LTM with Cr supplementation than females.

The initial increase in muscle glycogen accumulation could not be explained by an increase in fasting plasma insulin concentration, muscle GLUT-4 mRNA and/or protein content. In addition, neither muscle GS-1 nor Gln-1 mRNA expression was affected. We conclude that creatine ingestion itself stimulates muscle glycogen storage, but does not affect muscle GLUT-4 expression.

The mean and peak power during Sprint 3 in the CRE + PLA was significantly greater than that in the CON. Heart rates, plasma lactate, and glucose increased significantly with CRE + CAF during most sprints. No significant differences were observed in the RPE among the three trials. The present study determined that caffeine ingestion after creatine supplements augmented intermittent high-intensity sprint performance.

The present study shows that oral Cr supplementation improves neuromuscular function of the elbow flexor muscle during both voluntary and electrically induced contractions.

The results of this study indicate that five day Cr supplementation enhances the dynamic strength and may increase anaerobic metabolism in the lower extremity muscles, and improves performance in consecutive maximal swims in highly trained adolescent fin swimmers.

There was significant difference at p<0.05 in the control group from training effect whereas there was significant difference at p<0.000 from training effect and creatine supplement in the experiment group. Therefore, the creatine supplement in amateur swimmers in the present study enhanced the physical performance up to the maximum capacity.

There were no changes in either group for aerobic endurance. Creatine supplementation during a rugby union football season is effective for increasing muscular endurance, but has no effect on body composition or aerobic endurance.

There were no differences in average power between groups over time. Only the Cr-only group increased total body mass (79.9 +/- 13.0 +/- 81.1 +/- 13.8 kg; p < .01), with no significant changes in lean-tissue or fat mass. These results suggest that Cr alone and in combination with A-AKG improves upper body muscle endurance, and Cr + A-AKG supplementation improves peak power output on repeated Wingate tests.

There were no significant changes, however, in 1RMLE, MP, PP, or BW for the Creatine or Placebo group. These findings indicated that 28 days of PEG-creatine supplementation without resistance training increased upper body strength but not lower body strength or muscular power. These findings supported the use of the PEG-creatine supplement for increasing 1RMBP strength in untrained individuals.

These data suggest that 21 days of CS produced significant effects on gross and/or propelling efficiency during swimming in female athletes. However, CS did not influence performance, body weight and body composition.

These findings confirm an ergogenic effect of Cr during resistance training and suggest that subjects with initially low levels of intramuscular Cr (vegetarians) are more responsive to supplementation.

These findings demonstrate that creatine supplementation can enhance the benefits of resistance training in patients with PD.

These findings suggest that the addition of creatine supplementation to resistance training significantly increases total and fat-free body mass, muscular strength, peripheral blood flow, and resting energy expenditure and improves blood cholesterol.

These results indicate that Cr supplementation can increase muscle strength (allied with 4 weeks of strength training) but only in subjects whose estimated Cr uptake and body mass are significantly increased; the greater the Cr uptake and associated body mass changes, the greater the performance gains.

This adequately powered, randomized, placebo-controlled trial shows that CrS does not augment the substantial training effect of multidisciplinary PR for patients with COPD. Clinical trial registered with https://portal.nihr.ac.uk/Pages/NRRArchiveSearch.aspx (NO123138126).

This investigation shows that short-term, high-dose oral creatine supplementation enhances the excretion of potential cytotoxic compounds, but does not have any detrimental effects on kidney permeability. This provides indirect evidence of the absence of microangiopathy in renal glomeruli.

This is the first controlled study indicating that creatine supplementation improves skeletal muscle function in McArdle disease.

This study demonstrates that short-term high dose oral creatine supplementation has an ergogenic effect on anaerobic capacity of elite wrestlers.

This study provides definite evidence that prolonged creatine supplementation in humans does not increase muscle or whole-body oxidative capacity and, as such, does not influence substrate utilization or performance during endurance cycling exercise. In addition, our findings suggest that prolonged creatine ingestion induces an increase in fat-free mass.

Thus there is substantial evidence to indicate that creatine supplementation during resistance training is more effective at increasing muscle strength and weightlifting performance than resistance training alone, although the response is highly variable.

Twenty patients received either Cr or placebo for 3 months. After 3 months, there were no significant differences of muscle strength as assessed by hand-held dynamometry, testing of maximum grip strength, Medical Research Council scoring, and the Neuromuscular Symptom Score between the two groups. Some measures indicated trends toward mild improvement with Cr. Myalgia improved in two patients.

We conclude that creatine supplementation during RT has a small beneficial effect on regional muscle thickness in young adults but that giving the creatine over 3 d wk did not differ from giving the same dose over 2 d wk.

We conclude that creatine was not effective for improving performance in these ice-hockey players.

We concluded that 1) oral creatine supplementation offsets the decline in muscle GLUT4 protein content that occurs during immobilization, and 2) oral creatine supplementation increases GLUT4 protein content during subsequent rehabilitation training in healthy subjects.

We concluded that creatine monohydrate increased the strength of high-intensity anaerobic and aerobic type activities in patients with mitochondrial cytopathies but had no apparent effects upon lower intensity aerobic activities.

A short-term oral creatine supplementation compared to placebo seems not to enhance performance over 800 m in trained, spinal cord-injured, wheelchair athletes.

Activities of CK, ALD, LDH, GOT, GTP, and levels of CRP were increased in the Pl group after the competition as compared to basal values. CrS decreased plasma activities of CK, LDH, and ALD, and prevented the rise of GOT and GPT plasma activities. In rats, CrS delayed the fatigue, preserved the force, and prevented the rise of LDH and CK plasma activities and MVP in the gastrocnemius muscle. CrS presented a protective effect on muscle injury induced by strenuous contractile activities.

All the athletes finished the race in a time equivalent to their personal best +/- 5.8%. These results indicate that creatine supplementation reduced cell damage and inflammation after an exhaustive intense race.

Cr supplementation increased AWC 13-15% in both genders compared to PL (1.1%- 3.0% decline); although this result was not statistically significant, it may have some practical significance.

Creatine failed to improve muscle mass or function and QoL in colorectal cancer patients but improved bioimpedance parameters that are predictive of poor outcome. Creatine might therefore be useful in patients with milder chemotherapy in order to maintain or increase BCM whereas patients undergoing aggressive chemotherapy however are not likely to benefit.

Despite widespread use as an ergogenic aid in sport, the results of this study suggest that creatine monohydrate supplementation conveys no benefit to multiple sprint running performance.

Distances achieved were plotted over times-to-exhaustion and linear regression was used to determine the slopes (critical velocity, CV) assessing aerobic performance. The results indicated that Cr loading did not positively or negatively influence VO2max, CV, time to exhaustion or body mass (p>0.05). These results suggest Cr supplementation may be used in aerobic running activities without detriments to performance.

Expected gender differences were observed. Of the comparisons made among supplementation groups, only two differences for creatinine and total protein (P < 0.05) were noted. All group means fell within normal clinical ranges. There were no differences in the reported incidence of muscle injury, cramps, or other side effects. These data suggest that long-term creatine supplementation does not result in adverse health effects.

Following supplementation, there was significant body mass gain in the Cr group ( P<0.05), whereas the P group did not change. The exercise-induced T2, blood lactate levels and sprint performance were not affected by Cr supplementation in any sprint bouts. These results suggest that short-term Cr supplementation does not influence short duration repetitive sprint performance and muscle activation and/or metabolic state during sprint cycling evaluated by mfMRI of the skeletal muscle in humans.

Heart rate and oxygen uptake responses to exercise were not affected by supplementation. These findings suggest that short-term creatine supplementation does not enhance non-enzymatic antioxidant defence or protect against lipid peroxidation induced by exhaustive cycling in healthy males.

However, the change in the rate of fatigue of total work was significantly (p < 0.05) lower in the creatine supplementation group than in the placebo group, indicating a reduced fatigue rate in subjects supplementing with creatine compared with the placebo. Although the results of this study demonstrated reduced fatigue rates in patients during high-intensity sprint intervals, further research is necessary in examining the efficacy of low-dose, short-term creatine supplementation.

In conclusion, the present study demonstrates for the first time that creatine supplementation in combination with strength training amplifies the training-induced increase in satellite cell number and myonuclei concentration in human skeletal muscle fibres, thereby allowing an enhanced muscle fibre growth in response to strength training.

In contrast, for men, CR significantly improved mean overall swimming velocity in the 6 X 50-m interval after 2 weeks of supplementation, whereas PL had no effect. Although ineffective in women, CR supplementation apparently enables men to maintain a faster mean overall swimming velocity during repeated swims each lasting about 30 s; however, CR was not effective for men in repeated swims each lasting about 10 - 15 s.

In resting conditions and at high dosages Cr enhances GH secretion, mimicking the response of strong exercise which also stimulates GH secretion. Acute body weight gain and strength increase observed after Cr supplementation should consider the indirect anabolic property of Cr.

It was concluded that 4 weeks of Cr supplementation did not significantly improve single sprint performance in competitive junior swimmers, but it did enhance swim bench test performance.

Mean blood pH decreased (p < 0.05) similarly during the swims in both groups. Mean blood lactate increased (p < 0.001) during the swims, but there were no differences in peak blood lactate between the combination group (14.9 +/- 0.9 mmol.L(-1)) and placebo (13.4 +/- 1.0 mmol.L(-1)). The data indicate that simultaneous supplementation of creatine and sodium bicarbonate enhances performance in consecutive maximal swims.

No adverse changes in blood pressure, body composition, weight, or serum Cr phosphokinase levels were observed. We conclude that short-term Cr supplementation appears to be safe but does not enhance push-up performance.

No statistically significant differences in performance were observed between groups after long-term maintenance during training, although small differences were observed that might be meaningful for elite performers.

Prior to and following supplementation, participants performed a graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer to determine VO(2peak), time to exhaustion (TTE), and power output, VO(2), and percent VO(2peak) associated with VT and LT. No significant group effects were found. However, within groups, a significant time effect was observed for CrBa on 5 of the 8 parameters measured. These data suggest that CrBA may potentially enhance endurance performance.

Resistance training of 12 weeks increases bone mineral density in older men and creatine supplementation may provide an additional benefit for increasing regional bone mineral content. The increase in bone mineral content may be due to an enhanced muscle mass with creatine, with potentially greater tension on bone at sites of muscle attachment.

The findings suggest that creatine supplementation tended to decrease muscle glycogen and protein degradation, especially after endurance exercise. However, creatine supplementation might induce collagen proteolysis in athletes after sprint running.

The major finding of this investigation was a significant improvement in the rate of recovery of knee extensor muscle function after Cr supplementation following injury.

The male Cr loading group exhibited a 23% higher (p = 0.003) ARC compared to the PL group. Nonsignificant BW increases were found for the Cr groups. These findings suggest that Cr loading may be an effective strategy for improving ARC in men, but not in women, and revealed only nonsignificant increases in BW. Creatine loading may be used before competition by athletes to provide improvements in high-intensity, short-duration activities.

The PL resulted in no significant changes in AWC following supplementation; however, Cr increased AWC by 22.1% after 5 days of loading (p < 0.05). There was a significant main effect for body weight (BW), however, there was no significant increase in BW due to Cr supplementation. These results suggest that Cr supplementation is effective for increasing AWC in women following 5 days of loading without an associated increase in BW.

These data suggest that oral creatine supplementation does not reduce skeletal muscle damage or enhance recovery following a hypoxic resistance exercise challenge.

These results indicate that creatine monohydrate supplementation does not appear to improve the performance in 6 consecutive 60 meter repeated races but may modify ventilatory dynamics during the recovery after maximal effort.

Twenty g Cr supplementation a day for a week to the trained females improves not the maximal static strength and dynamic peak torque but the mean strength and endurance of repeated contractions. However, the effects on females are not so great as that ever found in males. The effects are enhanced by anaerobic exercises performed before the supplementation and would disappear in a week if the supplementation were stopped.

URCR was an effective measure of each CR dosage administered as well as of the excretion pattern that each group followed throughout the SP. Furthermore the strong relationship of URCR and PPI could be particularly useful for monitoring and optimising CR loading in athletic populations.

Conclusions: A 500 mg dose of an aqueous extract of Ashwagandha improves upper and lower-body strength, supports a favorable distribution of body mass, and was well tolerated clinically in recreationally active men over a 12-week resistance training and supplementation period.

Organ function tests were in normal range before and after the intervention. Reduction in total- and LDL- cholesterol and increase of strength in muscle activity was significant. Total body fat percentage showed a reduction trend. WS, in escalated dose, was tolerated well. The formulation appeared safe and strengthened muscle activity. In view of its traditional Rasayana use, further studies are planned to evaluate potential of this drug in patients of sarcopenia.

This study reports that ashwagandha supplementation is associated with significant increases in muscle mass and strength and suggests that ashwagandha supplementation may be useful in conjunction with a resistance training program.

Withania somnifera may therefore be useful for generalized weakness and to improve speed and lower limb muscular strength and neuro-muscular co-ordination. Terminalia arjuna may prove useful to improve cardio-vascular endurance and lowering systolic blood pressure. Both drugs appear to be safe for young adults when given for mentioned dosage and duration.

Ashwagandha improved the cardiorespiratory endurance of the elite athletes.

The findings suggest that Ashwagandha root extract enhances the cardiorespiratory endurance and improves QOL in healthy athletic adults.

Dietary NO₃(-) supplementation improves performance during intense intermittent exercise and may be a useful ergogenic aid for team sports players.

Functional capacity (6-min walk test), the muscle metabolic response to low-intensity exercise, brain metabolite concentrations, and cognitive function were also not altered. Dietary nitrate supplementation reduced resting blood pressure and improved Vo(2) kinetics during treadmill walking in healthy older adults but did not improve walking or cognitive performance. These results may have implications for the enhancement of cardiovascular health in older age.

These results indicate that the positive effects of 6 days of BR supplementation on the physiological responses to exercise can be ascribed to the high NO(3)(-) content per se.

Because whole vegetables have been shown to have health benefits, whereas nitrates from other sources may have detrimental health effects, it would be prudent for individuals seeking performance benefits to obtain nitrates from whole vegetables, such as beetroot.

Hypoxia reduced time to exhaustion in EX(max) by 36% (P < 0.05), but this ergolytic effect was partly negated by BR (+5%, P < 0.05). Short-term dietary nitrate supplementation improves arterial and muscle oxygenation status but not cerebral oxygenation status during exercise in severe hypoxia. This is associated with improved exercise tolerance against the background of a similar incidence of AMS.

The [PCr] recovery time constant was greater (P < 0.01) in H-PL (29 ± 5 s) compared to CON (23 ± 5 s) and H-BR (24 ± 5 s). Nitrate supplementation reduced muscle metabolic perturbation during exercise in hypoxia and restored exercise tolerance and oxidative function to values observed in normoxia. The results suggest that augmenting the nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway may have important therapeutic applications for improving muscle energetics and functional capacity in hypoxia.

A caffeine dose of at least 3 mg/kg in the form of an energy drink is necessary to significantly improve half-squat and bench-press maximal muscle power.

Although the effect of recovery duration on caffeine-induced responses to multiple sprint work requires further investigation, the results of the present study show that caffeine has ergogenic properties with the potential to benefit performance in both single and multiple sprint sports.

Caffeine has some potential to benefit training outcomes via the anabolic effects of the increase in testosterone concentration, but this benefit might be counteracted by the opposing catabolic effects of the increase in cortisol and resultant decline in the testosterone:cortisol ratio.

Caffeine improved RSA, including next day performance, but had little effect on RAT or sleep parameters.

Caffeine increased voluntary workload in professional athletes, even more so under conditions of self-reported limited sleep. Caffeine may prove worthwhile when athletes are tired, especially in those identified as responders.

Data suggest that a relatively high (5-mg·kg body weight) but not low (2-mg·kg body weight) caffeine dose is ergogenic for maximal knee extension/flexion exercise.

In conclusion, while a number of metabolic responses were increased during exercise after caffeine ingestion, perception of effort was reduced and this may be attributed to the direct stimulatory effect of caffeine on the central nervous system. However, this caffeine-induced reduction in effort perception did not improve exercise performance.

In contrast, cortisol concentrations were not elevated until after the third exercise set; following the caffeine treatment cortisol was reduced by 21 ± 31% (ES -0.30; ± 0.34) relative to placebo. The acute ingestion of caffeine via chewing gum attenuated fatigue during repeated, high-intensity sprint exercise in competitive cyclists. Furthermore, the delayed fatigue was associated with substantially elevated testosterone concentrations and decreased cortisol in the caffeine trials.

It was concluded that caffeine dose of up to 15mg/kg seems not to have any ergogenic effect on maximum aerobic power of young black African male adults.

Rowers' performance in 2,000-m efforts can improve by ~2% with 6 mg/kg BM caffeine supplementation. When caffeine is combined with sodium bicarbonate, gastrointestinal symptoms may prevent performance enhancement, so further investigation of ingestion protocols that minimize side effects is required.

The results of this study show that caffeine supplementation has no effect on short-duration sprint cycling performance, irrespective of the dosage used.

These results indicate that caffeine ingestion reverses the morning neuromuscular declines in highly resistance-trained men, raising performance to the levels of the afternoon trial. Our electrical stimulation data, along with the NE values, suggest that caffeine increases neuromuscular performance having a direct effect in the muscle.

This study revealed that acute caffeine ingestion can significantly enhance performance of prolonged, intermittent-sprint ability in competitive, male, team-sport athletes.

A caffeine dose of 3 mg x kg(-1) body mass appears to improve cycling performance in well-trained and familiarised athletes. Doubling the dose to 6 mg x kg(-1) body mass does not confer any additional improvements in performance.

Across all treatments, pain perception was significantly increased (p < .05) during exercise, as well as from Bout 1 to 2, yet there was no effect (p > .05) of caffeine on pain perception or RPE. Various measures of muscle function were improved (p < .05) with a 5-mg/kg caffeine dose vs. the other treatments. In the 5-mg/kg trial, it is plausible that subjects were able to perform better with similar levels of pain perception and exertion.

CAF improved performance independent of environmental temperature. These findings suggest that caffeine at the dosage utilized (6 mg/kg body mass) is a, legal drug that provides an ergogenic benefit in 12 and 33°C.

Fatigue scores were greater postexercise (p = 0.001) compared to scores pre exercise across conditions. Caffeine ingestion enhances performance in short-term, resistance exercise to failure and may favorably change the mood state response to exercise compared to a placebo.

No significant difference was found in time to exhaustion between treatments. A significant main effect of treatment for reported pain (p < 0.001, Φ = 0.377) was observed. Thus, in a population of recreationally trained college-aged adults, low-dose caffeine may attenuate the individual's perception of pain during a grip to exhaustion task.

Perceived arousal was elevated during exercise but did not differ between trials. Overall, the results suggest that a moderate dose of CAF ingested 1h prior to exercise maintains a more positive subjective experience during prolonged cycling. This observation may partially explain caffeine's ergogenic effects.

Results suggest that individuals homozygous for the A allele of this polymorphism may have a larger ergogenic effect following caffeine ingestion.

Caffeine treatment increased epinephrine, fatty acids, lactate and norepinephrine at different times during test session and led to insulin-resistance. Hence, caffeine ingestion elicits a similar metabolic response in elderly participants at 70 years old to that seen in younger subjects.

The results suggest that lactate and triglyceride production and increased vascular smooth muscle tone may be responsible for the major part of the thermogenic effect of caffeine.

These data demonstrate the robustness of the lactate, ventilatory and heart rate variability thresholds when challenged by a physiological dose of caffeine.

The only side effect reported was a feeling of stomach discomfort in 14.63% of the subjects. We conclude that the use of CM might be useful to increase athletic performance in high-intensity anaerobic exercises with short rest times and to relieve postexercise muscle soreness. Thus, athletes undergoing intensive preparation involving a high level of training or in competitive events might profit from CM.

Administration of L-arginine and citrulline to patients with HFpEF improved right ventricular function by increasing right ventricular ejection fraction, and probably decreasing systolic pulmonary artery pressure.

Growth hormone increased after exercise in both groups, although the increase was higher in the citrulline-malate supplemented group (p < 0.05). L-citrulline-malate supplementation can enhance the use of amino acids, especially the branched chain amino acids during exercise and also enhance the production of arginine-derived metabolites such as nitrite, creatinine, ornithine and urea.

Plasma insulin and Gh were not affected by CIT administration. Short-term CIT administration is safe and well-tolerated. CIT is a potent precursor of ARG. However, at the highest doses, CIT accumulated in plasma while plasma ARG levels increased less than expected. This may be due to saturation of the renal conversion of CIT into ARG.

The changes in muscle metabolism produced by CM treatment indicate that CM may promote aerobic energy production.

Although the IRM strength gains were not significantly different, HMB supplementation appears to increase peak isometric and various isokinetic torque values, and increase FFM and decrease plasma CPK activity. Lastly, it appears that higher doses of HMB (i.e., > 38 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) do not promote strength or FFM gains.

However, no significant differences between the groups were seen. No significant time or group effects were observed in testosterone or myoglobin concentrations. Results suggest that short duration HMB supplementation does not provide any ergogenic benefit in collegiate football players during preseason training camp.

In conclusion, these results suggest that an HMB-FA supplement given to trained athletes before exercise can blunt increases in muscle damage and prevent declines in perceived readiness to train following a high-volume, muscle-damaging resistance-training session.

Patients with HE treated with ALC showed a decrease in the severity of both mental and physical fatigue and an increase in physical activity. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01223742.

The benefits of ALC in comparison with placebo are demonstrated in greater reductions in serum ammonia levels, as well as in improvements of neuropsychological functioning.

The improvement of cognitive deficits, the reduction of ammonia, and the modification of EEG in patients treated with ALC suggest that ALC could represent a new tool in the treatment of severe hepatic encephalopathy.

The tendency toward suppressed ammonia accumulation, however, indicates that oral LC supplementation might have the potential to reduce the metabolic stress of exercise or alter ammonia production or removal, which warrants further investigation.

Administration of levocarnitine to healthy elderly subjects resulted in a reduction of total fat mass, an increase of total muscle mass, and appeared to exert a favourable effect on fatigue and serum lipids.

Data suggest that a 2-month L-carnitine supplementation may be effective in attenuating oxidative stress responses, enhancing antioxidant status, and improving performance of patients with end-stage renal disease.

Exercise-induced increases in plasma malondialdehyde returned to resting values sooner during LCLT compared with placebo. The amount of muscle disruption from MRI scans during LCLT was 41-45% of the placebo area. These data indicate that LCLT supplementation is effective in assisting recovery from high-repetition squat exercise.

Following CON II, all subjects began dietary supplementation of L-carnitine for a period of 14 days (4 g/day). Plasma total acid soluble and free carnitine concentrations were significantly higher (p < .05) at all time points following supplementation. L-carnitine supplementation had no significant effect on muscle carnitine content and thus could not alter lactate accumulation during exercise.

However, markers of physical performance (ie, strength, power, get up and go) were not affected by supplementation. These findings support our previous findings of l-carnitine in younger people that such supplementation can reduce chemical damage to tissues after exercise and optimize the processes of muscle tissue repair and remodeling.

In conclusion, because oxygen delivery was occluded during the forearm protocol, it is proposed that enhanced oxygen consumption mediated the reduced muscle oxygenation during the LCLT trial. Enhanced oxygen consumption would explain why hypoxic stress was attenuated with LCLT supplementation.

In conclusion, GPLC appears to be a useful dietary supplement to enhance anaerobic work capacity and potentially sport performance, but apparently the dosage must be determined specific to the intensity and duration of exercise.

In summary, these data demonstrated that: 1) feeding after RE increased AR content, which may result in increased testosterone uptake, and thus enhanced luteinizing hormone secretion via feedback mechanisms; and 2) LCLT supplementation upregulated AR content, which may promote recovery from RE.

No interaction effects were noted. MDA was minimally effected by exercise but lower at rest for both GPLC groups following the intervention (p = 0.044). A time main effect was noted for H2O2 (p = 0.05) and XO (p = 0.003), with values increasing from pre- to postexercise. Both aerobic and anaerobic power testing increase oxidative stress to a similar extent. Exercise training plus GPLC can decrease resting MDA, but it has little impact on exercise-induced oxidative stress biomarkers.

No other direct effects of LCLT supplementation were observed on the absolute concentrations of the hormones examined, but with more undamaged tissue, a greater number of intact receptors would be available for hormonal interactions. These data support the use of LCLT as a recovery supplement for hypoxic exercise and lend further insights into the hormonal mechanisms that may help to mediate quicker recovery.

Our study indicates that oral administration of levocarnitine produces a reduction of total fat mass, increases total muscular mass, and facilitates an increased capacity for physical and cognitive activity by reducing fatigue and improving cognitive functions.

There were no statistical differences (p> .05) between or within the 3 groups for any performance-related variable or muscle carnitine concentrations after 8 wk of supplementation and training. These results suggest that up to 3 g/d GPLC for 8 wk in conjunction with aerobic-exercise training is ineffective for increasing muscle carnitine content and has no significant effects on aerobic- or anaerobic-exercise performance.

These findings indicate that short-term oral supplementation of GPLC can enhance peak power production in resistance trained males with significantly less LAC accumulation.

This is the first demonstration that human muscle TC can be increased by dietary means and results in muscle glycogen sparing during low intensity exercise (consistent with an increase in lipid utilisation) and a better matching of glycolytic, PDC and mitochondrial flux during high intensity exercise, thereby reducing muscle anaerobic ATP production. Furthermore, these changes were associated with an improvement in exercise performance.

Serum cortisol was lower in the Mg-orotate group before and after the test compared with the controls. CK catalytic concentration after the test was elevated 140% in the controls compared with 122% Mg-orotate group. The stress-induced modifications of energy and hormone metabolism described in this study indicate altered glucose utilization after Mg-Orotate supplementation and a reduced stress response without affecting competitive potential.

These results suggest that chronic daily oral supplementation of MSM has alleviating effects on known markers of oxidative stress following acute bouts of exercise in healthy young men.

It seems that 10-day supplementation with MSM has allowed to decrease muscle damage via effect on antioxidant capacity.

MSM, especially when provided at 3.0 grams per day, may favorably influence selected markers of exercise recovery. More work is needed to extend these findings, in particular using a larger sample of subjects and the inclusion of additional markers of exercise recovery and performance.

This is the first study to report improved exercise capacity following phosphatidylserine supplementation. These findings suggest that phosphatidylserine might possess potential ergogenic properties.

Consistent with the concept that thermotolerance and heat acclimation are related through the heat shock response, repeated exercise/heat stress increases cytoprotective HSP70 and reduces circulating cytokines, contributing to reductions in cellular and systemic markers of heat strain. Exercising under a heat shock response-inhibitor prevents both cellular and systemic heat adaptations.

Acute ingestion of both WH and CS after exercise resulted in similar increases in muscle protein net balance, resulting in net muscle protein synthesis despite different patterns of blood amino acid responses.

In conclusion, whey and casein intake immediately after resistance exercise results in an overall equal MPS response despite temporal differences in insulin and amino acid concentrations and 4E-BP1.

We conclude that ingestion of 35 g whey protein results in greater amino acid absorption and subsequent stimulation of de novo muscle protein synthesis compared with the ingestion of 10 or 20 g whey protein in healthy, older men.

In conclusion, a minor advantage of protein supplementation over carbohydrate supplementation during resistance training on mechanical muscle function was found. However, the present results may have relevance for individuals who are particularly interested in gaining muscle size.

Significant increases in 1RM bench press and leg press were observed in all groups after 10 weeks. In this study, the combination of whey and casein protein promoted the greatest increases in fat-free mass after 10 weeks of heavy resistance training. Athletes, coaches, and nutritionists can use these findings to increase fat-free mass and to improve body composition during resistance training.

Significant main effects were also seen in both upper and lower body peak and mean power, but no significant differences were seen between groups. No changes in body mass or percent body fat were seen in any of the groups. Results indicate that the time of protein-supplement ingestion in resistance-trained athletes during a 10-wk training program does not provide any added benefit to strength, power, or body-composition changes.

The ingestion of whey protein immediately before the start of exercise and again after each training set has no effect on muscle mass and strength in untrained young adults.

These findings suggest that a single dose of GPC increases growth hormone secretion and hepatic fat oxidation, with concomitant increases in choline levels, in young adults.

These findings indicate that co-ingestion of alpha-lipoic acid with creatine and a small amount of sucrose can enhance muscle total creatine content as compared to the ingestion of creatine and sucrose or creatine alone.

Among persons with IGT and MS, the supplementation of l-arg for 18 months does not significantly reduce the incidence of diabetes but does significantly increase regression to NGT.

Consequently, there seems to be no apparent reason why the supplementation of arginine aspartate should be an effective ergogenic aid. The practice of using arginine aspartate as potential ergogenics should be critically reevaluated. Further investigations with higher dosage and extended supplementation periods should be performed.

Withania somnifera may therefore be useful for generalized weakness and to improve speed and lower limb muscular strength and neuro-muscular co-ordination. Terminalia arjuna may prove useful to improve cardio-vascular endurance and lowering systolic blood pressure. Both drugs appear to be safe for young adults when given for mentioned dosage and duration.

There was a significant decrease in mortality in the berberine-treated patients during long-term follow-up (7 patients receiving treatment died vs 13 on placebo, p <0.02). Proarrhythmia was not observed, and there were no apparent side effects. Thus, berberine improved quality of life and decreased VPCs and mortality in patients with CHF.

betaA supplementation for 28 days enhanced sub-maximal endurance performance by delaying OBLA. However, betaA supplemented individuals had a reduced aerobic capacity as evidenced by the decrease in VO2max values post supplementation.

Body mass increased (p less than or equal to 0.05) only for the BA group at weeks 4 and 8, whereas %fat decreased (p less than or equal to 0.05) and FFM increased (p less than or equal to 0.05) at weeks 4 and 8 for all groups (BA, PL, and CON). Although it is unclear why beta-alanine supplementation increased BM, there was no additive effects for increasing VO2 peak beyond the PL. Overall, these results suggested that HIIT may be an effective and time-efficient method of training to improve maximal oxygen uptake.

In conclusion, beta-alanine supplementation appears to improve submaximal cycle ergometry performance and TTE in young women, perhaps as a result of an increased buffering capacity due to elevated muscle carnosine concentrations.

In conclusion, despite a trend toward lower fatigue rates during 60 seconds of maximal exercise, 3 weeks of beta-alanine supplementation did not result in significant improvements in fatigue rates during high-intensity anaerobic exercise. However, higher training volumes and lower subjective feelings of fatigue in BA indicated that as duration of supplementation continued, the efficacy of beta-alanine supplementation in highly trained athletes became apparent.

In line with the purported mechanisms for an ergogenic effect of β-alanine supplementation, exercise lasting 60-240 s was improved (P=0.001) in BA compared to Pla, as was exercise of >240 s (P=0.046). In contrast, there was no benefit of β-alanine on exercise lasting <60 s (P=0.312). The median effect of β-alanine supplementation is a 2.85% (-0.37 to 10.49%) improvement in the outcome of an exercise measure, when a median total of 179 g of β-alanine is supplemented.

It can be concluded that the positive correlation between baseline muscle carnosine levels and rowing performance and the positive correlation between changes in muscle carnosine and performance improvement suggest that muscle carnosine is a new determinant of rowing performance.

No group differences were noted. No change from BL was seen in testosterone concentrations for either group. Results indicate that four weeks of beta-alanine supplementation can significantly improve muscular endurance during resistance training in experienced resistance-trained athletes. However, these performance gains did not affect the acute endocrine response to the exercise stimulus.

No significant between-group differences were found for performance decrement (% fatigue) for HPpeak or HPmean. In addition, no significant interactions were observed. Post-exercise blood lactate values were similar pre and post supplementation in both groups. The results of this study clearly indicate that 5 weeks of BA supplementation provides no benefit for repeat sprint performance.

Prior to and following supplementation, participants performed a graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer to determine VO(2peak), time to exhaustion (TTE), and power output, VO(2), and percent VO(2peak) associated with VT and LT. No significant group effects were found. However, within groups, a significant time effect was observed for CrBa on 5 of the 8 parameters measured. These data suggest that CrBA may potentially enhance endurance performance.

Results show that BA improved high-intensity cycling capacity. However, despite a 6-s (∼4%) increase in TTE with the addition of SB, this did not reach statistical significance, but magnitude-based inferences suggested a ∼70% probability of a meaningful positive difference.

The use of HIIT to induce significant aerobic improvements is effective and efficient. Chronic BA supplementation may further enhance HIIT, improving endurance performance and lean body mass.

Training regimen may have an effect on the degree of benefit from β-alanine supplementation.

This study demonstrates that the ingestion of a blueberry smoothie prior to and after EIMD accelerates recovery of muscle peak isometric strength. This effect, although independent of the beverage's inherent antioxidant capacity, appears to involve an up-regulation of adaptive processes, i.e. endogenous antioxidant processes, activated by the combined actions of the eccentric exercise and blueberry consumption. These findings may benefit the sporting community who should consider dietary interventions that specifically target health and performance adaptation.

Exercise time to exhaustion was not different between treatments (122 +/- 3 min). 3. The data suggest that manipulation of tryptophan supply to the brain either has no additional effect upon serotoninergic activity during prolonged exhaustive exercise or that manipulation of serotoninergic activity functionally does not contribute to mechanisms of fatigue.

In addition, the effects of exercise on the plasma concentration of the aromatic amino acids were altered when a BCAA supplement was given during the marathon.

In conclusion, BCAA supplementation increases resistance to fatigue and enhances lipid oxidation during exercise in glycogen-depleted subjects.

There was no difference in the physical performance between the two trials measured as the amount of work done during the last 20 min of exercise when the subjects performed at their maximum. The plasma concentration ratio of free tryptophan/BCAAs, which increased by 45% during exercise and by 150% 5 min after exercise in the placebo trial, remained unchanged or even decreased when BCAAs were ingested.

Ingestion of bromelain and ibuprofen had no effect on elbow flexor pain, loss of ROM, or loss of concentric peak torque as a result of an eccentric exercise regimen.

We conclude that bromelain may be effective in ameliorating physical symptoms and improving general well-being in otherwise healthy adults suffering from mild knee pain in a dose-dependant manner. Double blind, placebo-controlled studies are now warranted to confirm these results.

Acute DC consumption may affect insulin, glucose, antioxidant status and oxidative stress responses, but has minimal effects on immunoendocrine responses, to prolonged exercise.

Time to exhaustion at 90% VO2max was not significantly different between trials (398 ± 204 and 374 ± 194 s for DC and CON, respectively). These results suggest that regular DC intake is associated with reduced oxidative-stress markers and increased mobilization of free fatty acids after exercise but has no observed effect on exercise performance.

Although in theory Q10 could be beneficial for exercise capacity and in decreasing oxidative stress, the present study could not demonstrate that such effects exist after supplementation with a recommended dose.

Although there is an increased demand for plasma CoQ10 during endurance exercise and CoQ10 supplement can depress lipid peroxidation, there is no effect of CoQ10 supplementation on liver mitochondrial function and aerobic capacity in adolescent athletes.

Coenzyme Q10 supplementation partially prevents the increase in lipid peroxidation after repeated short-term supramaximal exercise.

CoQ(10) treatment attenuated the rise in lactate after cycle ergometry, increased (∽1.93 ml) VO(2)/kg lean mass after 5 minutes of cycling (P < 0.005), and decreased gray matter choline-containing compounds (P < 0.05). Sixty days of moderate- to high-dose CoQ(10) treatment had minor effects on cycle exercise aerobic capacity and post-exercise lactate but did not affect other clinically relevant variables such as strength or resting lactate.

Improvements in the ED relaxation and endothelium-bound ecSOD activity might be related to CoQ(10) capability of enhancing endothelial functionality by counteracting nitric oxide oxidation. The enhancement of peak VO(2) and of O(2) pulse is likely due to the bioenergetic effect of CoQ(10); on the other end, the improved VO(2) could also depend on the observed enhanced peripheral endothelial function.

Oral administration of coenzyme Q10 improved subjective fatigue sensation and physical performance during fatigue-inducing workload trials and might prevent unfavorable conditions as a result of physical fatigue.

Oral CoQ(10) improves functional capacity, endothelial function, and LV contractility in CHF without any side effects. The combination of CoQ(10) and ET resulted in higher plasma CoQ(10) levels and more pronounced effects on all the abovementioned parameters. However, significant synergistic effect of CoQ(10) with ET was observed only for peak SWTI suggesting that ET amplifies the already described effect of CoQ(10) on contractility of dysfunctional myocardium.

Serum CK (at 3 d), Mb (at 3 d) and lipid peroxide (at 3 d and 5 d) of the CoQ10 group were lower than those of the placebo group. The leucocyte counts in the placebo group significantly increased (at 3 d) and neutrophils significantly increased in both groups (at 3 d and 5 d). Serum scavenging activity against superoxide anion did not change in either group. These results indicate that CoQ10 supplementation reduced exercise-induced muscular injury in athletes.

The mean interventricular septal thickness (IVS) showed a 22.4% reduction (p < 0.005). The mean posterior wall thickness showed a 23.1% reduction (p < 0.005). No patient in the treatment Group had ventricular tachycardia (VT) whereas 4 cases in the control group had VT. In both groups 1 patient was lost due to sudden cardiac death (SCD).

This study suggests that oral Q-ter and creatine, added to conventional drug therapy, exert some beneficial effect on physical performance in stable systolic CHF. Results may support the design of larger studies aimed at assessing the long-term effects of this treatment on functional status and harder outcomes.

Intake of high-protein milk supplements increased net nutrient absorption for adult SBS patients, but at the expense of increased diarrhoea. Despite high contents of bioactive factors, colostrum did not significantly improve intestinal absorption, body composition or functional tests compared with the control.

It is concluded that in elite field hockey players, colostrum supplementation improves sprint performance better than whey. However, there were no differences with regard to body composition or endurance performance.

It was concluded that a 2-week supplementation with bovine colostrum in physically active men increases serum concentration of essential amino acids but has no effect either on strength performance or protein net balance in fasting conditions during recovery after STS.

Oral bovine colostrum supplementation at 20 g or 60 g/d provided a small but significant improvement in time trial performance in cyclists after a 2-h ride at 65% VO2max.

Since the skin and subcutaneous fat compartment increased in trained but not untrained limbs, and fat turnover in adipocytes is under hormonal control and would not be localised to one arm, we suggest that the increase in skin and subcutaneous fat cross-sectional area in resistance trained of bovine colostrum may have been due to an increase in skin cross-sectional area, rather than fat.

The whey protein group experienced a significant increase (P < 0.05) in body weight (mean increase of 2.11 kg), whereas the colostrum group experienced a significant (P < 0.05) increase in bone-free lean body mass (mean increase of 1.49 kg). There were no changes in any of the other parameters measured. Thus, supplementation with bovine colostrum (20 g/d) in combination with exercise training for 8 wk may increase bone-free lean body mass in active men and women.

In conclusion, although no detrimental effects were caused by supplementation, these results do not confirm a role for CLA in either body weight or blood lipid regulation in humans.

In conclusion, mixed-isomer CLA supplementation had a favourable effect on serum insulin and NEFA response to oral glucose in non-obese, regularly exercising women, but there were no CLA-specific effects on body composition, energy expenditure or appetite.

In conclusion, the regain of fat-free mass was favorably, dose-independently affected by a 13-week consumption of 1.8 or 3.6 g CLA/day and consequently increased the resting metabolic rate. However, it did not result in improved body weight maintenance after weight loss.

In conclusion, this study shows that CLA supplementation for 24 mo in healthy, overweight adults was well tolerated. It confirms also that CLA decreases BFM in overweight humans, and may help maintain initial reductions in BFM and weight in the long term.

In conclusion, whereas CLA may increase lean body mass in obese humans, it may also increase markers of inflammation in the short term.

In summary, supplementation with CLA plus n-3 LC-PUFA prevents increased abdominal fat mass and raises fat-free mass and adiponectin levels in younger obese individuals without deleteriously affecting insulin sensitivity, whereas these parameters in young and older lean and older obese individuals were unaffected, apart from increased fasting glucose in older obese men.

Long-term supplementation with CLA-FFA or CLA-triacylglycerol reduces BFM in healthy overweight adults.

Supplementation with CLA and SAF exerted different effects on BMI, total and trunk adipose mass, and lean tissue mass in obese postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes. Supplementation with these dietary oils may be beneficial for weight loss, glycemic control, or both.

Supplementation with CLA during resistance training results in relatively small changes in body composition accompanied by a lessening of the catabolic effect of training on muscle protein.

The data suggest that conjugated linoleic acid may reduce BFM in humans and that no additional effect on BFM is achieved with doses > 3.4 g CLA/d.

The present results suggest that a 98 d supplementation diet with a 50 : 50 mixture of the two CLA isomers cis-9, trans-11 and trans-10, cis-12 in a dairy product was unable to alter body composition, although a significant increase in the RMR has been induced. Moreover, changes in mRNA PPAR gamma and HSL in adipose tissue were recorded.

The supplementation of CLA for 12 wk in overweight and grade I obese Chinese subjects yielded lower obesity indices, with no obvious adverse effects.

This pilot study suggests that supplementation with Cs-4 (Cordyceps sinensis) improves exercise performance and might contribute to wellness in healthy older subjects.

Administration of low doses (25 mg) of DHEA positively modulates several endocrine parameters in early and late postmenopausal women, inducing the increase of the androgenic, estrogenic, and progestogenic milieu and reducing the climateric symptoms, similarly to estroprogestin replacement therapy. These data suggest that DHEA supplementation is a more effective replacement therapy than a simple "dietary supplement."

As far as well-being is concerned, DHEA replacement did not cause any relevant variation of subjective health scales and sexuality in both sexes. Our study confirms that DHEA may be beneficial for female patients with hypoadrenalism, mainly in restoring androgen levels. Concerning the health status, more sensitive and specific instruments to measure the effects of DHEA treatment could be necessary.

DHEA supplementation in older women, but not in men, improves spine BMD when co-administered with vitamin D and calcium. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00182975.

The results of this double-blind, randomized trial do not support the hypothesis that hormone replacement with DHEA and/or atamestane might improve the course of frailty.

This study shows that short-term treatment with DHEA increased platelet cGMP production, a marker of NO production, in healthy elderly subjects. This effect is coupled with a decrease in PAI-1 and LDL cholesterol levels as well as an increase in testosterone and E(2) levels. These findings, therefore, suggest that chronic DHEA supplementation would exert antiatherogenic effects, particularly in elderly subjects who display low circulating levels of this hormone.

Twelve weeks of combined endurance and resistance training significantly improved body composition, physical performance, insulin sensitivity, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol particle number and size, whereas DHEA had no additional benefits.

These data suggest that ECH supplementation results in significant increases in EPO, VO2max, and running economy.

The following conclusions were drawn: active components in Eleutherococcus senticosus contained in Taiga Wurzel preparation affect cellular defence and physical fitness, as well as lipid metabolism.

Additionally, 40 km time trial performance was similar for average power output (221 +/- 28 vs. 213 +/- 16 watts) and for time to completion (69.7 +/- 3.7 vs. 70.5 +/- 2.2 min) for the GLU and GLU + FG, respectively. Despite earlier data to the contrary, the present results do not support an effect of fenugreek supplementation on glycogen resynthesis, even though this may have been the result of differences in experimental protocol.

These data demonstrate that when the fenugreek extract supplement (4-OH-Ile) is added to a high oral dose of dextrose, rates of post-exercise glycogen resynthesis are enhanced above dextrose alone.

Oral ingestion of forskolin (250 mg of 10% forskolin extract twice a day) for a 12-week period was shown to favorably alter body composition while concurrently increasing bone mass and serum free testosterone levels in overweight and obese men. The results indicate that forskolin is a possible therapeutic agent for the management and treatment of obesity.

After initial treadmill stress test, they were administered garlic oil in the dose of four capsules twice a day for 6 weeks and treadmill stress test was repeated. Garlic significantly (P<0.01) reduced heart rate at peak exercise and also significantly reduced the work load upon the heart resulting in better exercise tolerance (P<0.05) as compared to the initial test. It appears to be a good adaptogen to be utilized in patients with coronary artery disease.

The results were consistent with related findings showing that ingesting a large dose of aspirin does not acutely alter quadriceps muscle pain during cycling, and this suggests that prostaglandins do not play a large role in this type of exercise-induced skeletal-muscle pain. Ginger consumption has also been shown to improve VO2 recovery in an equine exercise model, but these results show that this is not the case in humans.

This study demonstrates that daily consumption of raw and heat-treated ginger resulted in moderate-to-large reductions in muscle pain following exercise-induced muscle injury. Our findings agree with those showing hypoalgesic effects of ginger in osteoarthritis patients and further demonstrate ginger's effectiveness as a pain reliever.

Plasma CK level in RG was significantly lower than that in P 72 h post-exercise (p < 0.05), and IL-6 level was significantly decreased in RG during the 2 h and 3 h recovery period compared to that of P (p < 0.05). Plasma glucose and insulin responses in RG were significantly reduced compared to those of P (p < 0.05). The results of this study suggest that RG supplementation could reduce exercise-induced muscle damage and inflammatory responses, resulting in improvements in insulin sensitivity.

We conclude that acute supplementation of 200 mg of PG did not affect the endurance running performance of the heat-adapted male recreational runners in the heat.

Glutamine may be cardioprotective in patients with coronary heart disease.

Oral glutamine had no effect on peak or V(O2) at LT, {V(O2) peak: CON=0.70±0.1 l min(-1) vs. GLN=0.73±0.2 l min(-1); LT: CON=0.57±0.1 l min(-1) vs. GLN=0.54±0.1 lmin(-1)} or V(O2) kinetics {tau: CON=68±22 s vs. GLN=68±16 s}. Ingestion of glutamine before exercise did not improve indices of oxidative metabolism in this patient group.

In conclusion, in previously untrained men, dietary supplementation with GTE (in combination with strength training) enhances the antioxidant defense system in plasma at rest and, in turn, may give protection against oxidative damage induced by both short-term muscular endurance test and long-term strength training.

Short-term consumption of EGCG increased VO2max without affecting maximal cardiac output, suggesting that EGCG may increase arterial-venous oxygen difference.

While soreness ratings were blunted in the two supplementation groups 24 h after exercise when compared to PLC values, more research is needed to determine the potential impact of EGCG and NAC supplementation on changes related to oxidative stress, apoptosis, and eccentric exercise.

Iron supplementation was associated with a significant improvement in muscle fatigability. Interpretation regarding the direct role of tissue iron status is limited by the study's low power to detect relations between tissue iron improvement and decreased muscle fatigue.

Our findings strongly suggest that iron deficiency without anemia but with elevated sTfR status impairs aerobic adaptation among previously untrained women and that this can be corrected with iron supplementation.

HICA supplementation of 1.5 g a day leads to small increases in muscle mass during a four week intensive training period in soccer athletes.

These results suggest that 4 g/d of L-leucine supplementation may be used as a nutritional supplement to enhance strength performance during a 12-week resistance training program of initially untrained male participants.

Altering the melatonin rhythm may affect neuroendocrine function, influencing the nocturnal pattern of neurohypophysial hormone secretion, augmenting prolactin release and advancing the peak of cortisol release.

Data obtained also indicate that melatonin has potent protective effects, by preventing over-expression of pro-inflammatory mediators and inhibiting the effects of several pro-inflammatory cytokines. In summary, melatonin supplementation before strenuous exercise reduced muscle damage through modulation of oxidative stress and inflammation signaling associated with this physical challenge.

In conclusion these results indicated that treatment with melatonin in acute sports exercise reversed oxidative stress, improved defenses and lipid metabolism, which would result in an improvement in fitness.

These results confirm that the nocturnal increase in melatonin could contribute to the patterns of oxytocin, vasopressin and growth hormone release seen over 24 h.

Chronic Rhodiola Rosea supplementation is able to reduce both lactate levels and parameters of skeletal muscle damage after an exhaustive exercise session. Moreover this supplementation seems to ameliorate fatty acid consumption. Taken together those observation confirm that Rhodiola Rosea may increase the adaptogen ability to physical exercise.

The effects of extracts of Rhodiola rosea radix on blood levels of inflammatory C-reactive protein and creatinine kinase were studied in healthy untrained volunteers before and after exhausting exercise. Rhodiola rosea extract exhibited an antiinflammatory effect and protected muscle tissue during exercise.

Supplementation with CLA and SAF exerted different effects on BMI, total and trunk adipose mass, and lean tissue mass in obese postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes. Supplementation with these dietary oils may be beneficial for weight loss, glycemic control, or both.

Also, pulmonary O2 uptake and changes in muscle oxygenation as determined by near-infrared spectrophotometry during exercise were similar. The enlarged blood-buffering capacity after infusion of Bic attenuated acidosis and in turn arterial desaturation during maximal exercise.

Although there was no effect on performance an investigation of the effects in more highly trained individuals may be warranted.

Analysis of exercise blood samples using ANOVA with repeated measures revealed that the linear increase in plasma lactate concentration during control was significantly greater than acidosis (p less than 0.01). Although plasma lactate values during alkalosis were consistently elevated above control there was no significant difference in the linear trend (p greater than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS).

As NaHCO3 ingestion does not increase resting muscle pH or beta(in vitro), it is likely that the improved performance is a result of the greater extracellular buffer concentration increasing H efflux from the muscles into the blood. The significant increase in posttest muscle [La] in NaHCO3 suggests that an increased anaerobic energy contribution is one mechanism by which NaHCO3 ingestion improved RSA.

Blood [HCO3-] was significantly higher (P < or = 0.05) during exercise for BIC compared to PLC. TIME-EX was not significantly different among treatments: BIC 287 (SEM 47.4)s; CIT 172.8 (SEM 29.7)s; and PLC 222.3 (SEM 39.7)s. Despite the fact that buffer ingestion produced favourable metabolic conditions during 30 min of high intensity steady-state exercise, a significant improvement in the subsequent maximal exercise run to exhaustion did not occur.

Blood lactate concentration [La] progressively increased with the completion of each exercise set ([La] set 1-5: NaHCO3, 1.37 to 11.15; placebo, 1.31 to 9.81 mM); but were not significantly different between treatments. Repetitions performed in the final exercise set were not significantly different between groups (NaHCO3: 19.6 +/- 1.6, placebo: 18.2 +/- 1.1 repetitions).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS).

Blood lactate, pH, SBC and BE were significantly higher (P less than 0.05) at post-exercise in NaHCO3 treatments. These data are in agreement with previous findings that during repeated bouts of exercise pre-exercise administration of NaHCO3 improves performance, possibly by facilitating the efflux of hydrogen ions from working muscles and thereby delaying the onset of fatigue.

Both acute and serial NaHCO3 loading significantly improved 4-minute cycling performance when compared with that in a placebo trial. However, serial NaHCO3 loading may provide a convenient and practical alternative approach for athletes preparing for competition.

Despite longer exercise duration in alkalosis, plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine concentrations at exhaustion were reduced by 30 and 34%, respectively. These results indicate that alkalosis increased muscle lactate accumulation during exhaustive exercise. These changes were associated with a reduced blood catecholamine response to exercise.

Despite notably enhanced blood-buffering capacity, NaHCO3 ingestion had no effect on the W', the CP, or the overall performance during 3 min of all-out cycling. It is concluded that preexercise blood alkalosis had no influence on the power-duration relationship for all-out exercise.

Force decline rate was less (P < 0.05) during alkalosis-sustained maximal contraction and no differences were shown in central activation ratio. These data indicate that induced metabolic alkalosis can increase muscle fibre conduction velocity following prolonged submaximal cycling.

In conclusion, NaHCO3- ingestion had no effect on performance and RPE during a series of three WT simulating a BMX qualification series, possibly because of the short duration of each effort and the long recovery time used between the three WTs. On the contrary, NaHCO3- ingestion improved perceived readiness before each WT.

In conclusion, sodium bicarbonate improves judo-related performance and increases blood lactate concentration but has no effect on perceived exertion.

In conclusion, the addition of sodium bicarbonate to a normal diet proved to be of ergogenic benefit in the performance of short-term, high-intensity work.

In conclusion, water polo players should not expect substantial enhancement in intermittent-sprint performance from NaHCO3 supplementation.

It was concluded that during exercise consisting of repeated, short-duration sprints, power output was enhanced following the ingestion of sodium bicarbonate, (300 mg/kg body weight).

It was concluded that SB supplementation can improve 200 m freestyle performance time in elite male competitors, most likely by increasing buffering capacity.

NaHCO3 ingestion resulted in a small muscle alkalosis but had no effect on muscle metabolism or intense endurance exercise performance in well-trained men.

NaHCO₃ supplementation increased blood HCO₃⁻ concentration and attenuated the decline in blood pH compared with placebo during high-intensity exercise in well-trained rugby players but did not significantly improve exercise performance. The higher incidence and greater severity of GI symptoms after ingestion of NaHCO₃ may negatively affect physical performance, and the authors strongly recommend testing this supplement during training before use in competitive situations.

Our findings suggest that training intensity, rather than the accumulation of H(+) during training, may be more important to improvements in beta m. The group ingesting NaHCO(3) before each training session had larger improvements in the LT and endurance performance, possibly because of a reduced metabolic acidosis during training and a greater improvement in muscle oxidative capacity.

Results show that BA improved high-intensity cycling capacity. However, despite a 6-s (∼4%) increase in TTE with the addition of SB, this did not reach statistical significance, but magnitude-based inferences suggested a ∼70% probability of a meaningful positive difference.

Sodium bicarbonate did not further enhance rehydration or performance in lightweight rowers when undertaking recommended post-weigh-in nutritional recovery strategies.

Such a recovery profile is nonlinear, with 50% recovery occurring in approximately 12 min. Complete recovery of blood lactate can take longer than 60 min, with 50% recovery occurring in approximately 30 min. Induced alkalosis decreases metabolic acidosis and improves pH recovery compared to acidodic and placebo conditions. Although blood pH and lactate are highly correlated during recovery from acidosis, they recover at significantly different rates.

Ten of the athletes completed all the races. The athletes' average times for trials B, P and C were 253.9, 256.8 and 258.0 s, respectively. The data were analysed using a two-way ANOVA with replicates and Tukey tests. This revealed a difference between trial B and trials P and C (P < 0.05), but no difference between trials P and C. These findings, therefore, indicate that sodium bicarbonate can have an ergogenic effect upon 1500-m running.

The findings suggest that 0.3 g·kg-1 NaHCO3 ingested 2.5 hours before exercise enhances the blood buffering potential and may positively influence swim performance.

The increase in Tlim was accompanied by an increase in [HCO3-], suggesting that acidosis might be a limiting factor for exercise at CP. Prolonged NaHCO3 supplementation did not lead to a further increase in [HCO3-] due to the concurrent elevation in plasma volume. This may explain why Tlim remained unaltered despite the prolonged NaHCO3 supplementation period. Ingestion of one single NaHCO3 dose per day before the competition during multiday competitions or tournaments might be a valuable strategy for performance enhancement.

The intravascular volume expansion with NaHCO3 rather than the increase in blood buffer capacity may underlie the previously reported benefit of orally ingested bicarbonate in exercise performance.

The match-induced declines in the consistency scores were significantly larger in the placebo trial than those in the bicarbonate trial. This study suggested that NaHCO3 supplementation could prevent the decline in skilled tennis performance after a simulated match.

The primary finding of this investigation was that orally-induced alkalosis does not significantly affect plasma epinephrine concentrations or performance following 90 s of maximal cycle exercise in untrained men.

The results of this study suggest that ingestion of NaHCO(3) improves sprint performance during prolonged intermittent cycling.

The results of this study suggest that NaHCO3 ingestion can improve intermittent-sprint performance and may be a useful supplement for team-sport athletes.

The results of this study suggest that the ingestion of NaHCO(3) before intermittent type exercise was sufficient to induce metabolic alkalosis but did not significantly affect performance. However, because significant individual variations in performance were observed, an individual approach to bicarbonate ingestion is recommended based on the intensity and duration of the required performance.

The subjects in E completed 950.9 (81.1) kJ of work, which was significantly more (F(2,27) = 5.28, P < 0.01) than during either the C [835.5 (100.2) kJ] or P [839.0 (88.6) kJ] trials. No differences were seen in peak power or in the power:mass ratio between these three groups. The results of this study suggest that sodium bicarbonate may be used to offset the fatigue process during high-intensity, aerobic cycling lasting 60 min.

There was a significant increase in punches landed during the BICARB condition (p < 0.001); however, no significant interaction effects for HRave (p = 0.15), HRmax (p = 0.32), or RPE (p = 0.38). The metabolic alkalosis induced by the NaHCO3 loading elevated before and after sparring blood buffering capacity. In practical application, the findings suggest that a standard NaHCO3 loading dose (0.3 g.kg(-1)) improves punch efficacy during 4 rounds of sparring performance.

These data confirm previous data showing that the ingestion of a low-CHO diet reduces the capacity to perform high-intensity exercise, but it appears that the metabolic acidosis induced by the low-CHO diet is not the cause of the reduced exercise capacity observed during high-intensity exercise under these conditions.

These data suggest that successive 30-s high intensity performance may be improved when coupled with NaHCO3 supplementation.

Thigh muscle (vastus lateralis) pH measured immediately before the fifth cycling bout in four of the subjects revealed that the working muscles were less acid in the NaHCO3 trial (pH = 6.81) than during the NaCl treatment (pH = 6.73). Thus, the alkalizing influence of oral HCO3 supports the concept that the hydrogen ion concentration in blood and muscle has a direct influence on performance during repeated, supramaximal exercise.

This is likely because of the lower blood pH and slower recovery of blood HCO(3) post-TT1 after C ingestion. These findings suggest that the ergogenic benefit of taking C alone for repeated 200-m swimming performance appears limited. When combined with NaHCO(3), however, its negative impact on repeated maximal exercise performance is reversed.

This may be a result of a lower demand on the whole body metabolic system in comparison with that for other modes of exercise in which ergogenic effects have been found.

This study demonstrated that, although alkali ingestion resulted in significant shifts in the blood acid-base balance, it failed to affect the 600 m running performance.

This study demonstrates that alkali ingestion results in significant shifts in the acid-base balance of the blood, but has no effect on the power output during repeated bouts of brief maximal exercise.

Time to exhaustion at 100% of VO2max was not significantly different between treatments [mean (SE): 173 (42) s and 184 (44) s for T and P respectively]. A significant treatment effect was observed for plasma pH with values being significantly higher on T than on P Pre 70% [7.461 (0.007) vs 7.398 (0.008)], Pre 90% [7.410 (0.010) vs 7.340 (0.016)], and 10'Post [7.317 (0.032) vs 7.242 (0.036)].(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS).

We would suggest using chronic ingestion as a means to improve high intensity work rather than the acute ingestion of sodium bicarbonate. The ingestion of sodium bicarbonate, over a period of six days, significantly improved work output two days after bicarbonate ingestion ceased.

When ingested individually, both CAFF and SB enhance high-intensity cycling TT performance in trained cyclists. However, the ergogenic effect of these 2 popular supplements was not additive, bringing into question the efficacy of coingesting the 2 supplements before short-duration high-intensity exercise. In this study there were no negative effects of combining CAFF and SB, 2 relatively inexpensive and safe supplements.

Accordingly, the cerebral metabolic ratio decreased equally during the Sal and Bicarb trials: from 5.8±0.6 at rest to 1.7±0.1 and 1.8±0.2, respectively. The enlarged blood-buffering capacity after infusion of Bicarb eliminated metabolic acidosis during maximal exercise but that did not affect the cerebral lactate uptake and, therefore, the decrease in the cerebral metabolic ratio.

NaHCO3 administration for 5 d may prevent acid-base balance disturbances and improve performance during anaerobic exercise in a dose-dependent manner.

Rowers' performance in 2,000-m efforts can improve by ~2% with 6 mg/kg BM caffeine supplementation. When caffeine is combined with sodium bicarbonate, gastrointestinal symptoms may prevent performance enhancement, so further investigation of ingestion protocols that minimize side effects is required.

Treatment with a buffer, which effectively maintained pH above 7.40, significantly suppressed endorphin release (F = 3.07; P < 0.0001). The results of this study indicate that acidosis rather than any other physiological change associated with high-intensity exertion is the primary stimulus for beta-endorphin release.

Spirulina supplementation induced a significant increase in exercise performance, fat oxidation, and GSH concentration and attenuated the exercise-induced increase in lipid peroxidation.

These results suggest that ingestion of S. platensis showed preventive effect of the skeletal muscle damage and that probably led to postponement of the time of exhaustion during the all-out exercise.

Taurine supplementation in patients with HF who are taking standard medical treatment can increase their exercise capacity.

Consumption of theaflavin-enriched black tea extract led to improved recovery and a reduction in oxidative stress and DOMS responses to acute anaerobic intervals. An improved rate of recovery can benefit all individuals engaging in high intensity, anaerobic exercise as it facilitates increased frequency of exercise.

Betaine (vs. placebo) supplementation enhanced both the anabolic endocrine profile and the corresponding anabolic signaling environment, suggesting increased protein synthesis.

NOx was lower postintervention as compared with preintervention (p = 0.06), and MDA was relatively unchanged. The decrease in StO2 during the bench press protocol was greater with betaine vs. placebo (p = 0.01), possibly suggesting enhanced muscle oxygen consumption. These findings indicate that betaine supplementation results in a moderate increase in total repetitions and volume load in the bench press exercise, without favorably impacting other performance measures.

IGF-1 and irisin were significantly increased compared with baseline levels in the RT+UA group (p<0.05). Maximal right and left extension (p<0.01), right flexion (p<0.05), and left flexion (p<0.001) were significantly increased compared with baseline levels in the RT+UA group. These findings suggest that UA-induced elevation of serum irisin may be useful as an agent for the enhancement of skeletal muscle strength during RT.

The Km of skeletal muscle glycogen synthase was lowered by approximately 30% after VS treatment (P < 0.05). These results indicate that 3 wk of treatment with VS improves hepatic and peripheral insulin sensitivity in insulin-resistant NIDDM humans. These effects were sustained for up to 2 wk after discontinuation of VS.

Testosterone (males only) and growth hormone (both genders) were higher 5 min after the simulated race (P < 0.05) but returned to baseline at 60 min. Cortisol was higher 5 and 60 min compared to rest (both genders) (P < 0.05) and was higher 60 min post-exercise following 5 and 10 wk of training. It appears that 10 wk of EVA supplementation does not significantly improve rowing performance nor alter hormonal responses at rest or after acute exercise than training alone.

There were no endocrine, red cell mass or VO2max changes in any group. These findings do not support an erythropoetic or aerobic ergogenic effect of deer antler velvet. Further, the inconsistent findings regarding the effects of deer antler velvet powder supplementation on the development of strength suggests that further work is required to test the robustness of the observation that this supplement enhances the strength training response and to ensure this observation is not a type I error.

Glutathione ratio (oxidized glutathione/total glutathione) was significantly increased at 4 and 24 h with P but VC prevented this change. These data suggest that vitamin C pretreatment can reduce MS, delay CK increase, and prevent blood glutathione oxidation with little influence on muscle function loss.

Nevertheless, downhill running provoked a similar increase in circulating markers of muscle damage (creatine kinase activity and myoglobin concentration) and muscle soreness in P and VC groups. Similarly, although downhill running increased plasma interleukin-6, there was no effect from VC supplementation. These results suggest that vitamin C supplementation does not affect interleukin-6 concentrations following eccentric exercise that has a low metabolic component.

The complete lack of any effect on the physiologic and biochemical outcome measures used raises questions about the validity of using oral antioxidant supplementation as a redox modulator of muscle and redox status in healthy humans.

These data indicate that vitamin C supplementation in carbohydrate-fed runners does not serve as a countermeasure to oxidative and immune changes during or after a competitive ultramarathon race.

These data provide preliminary evidence that vitamin C status may influence fatigue, heart rate, and perceptions of exertion during moderate exercise in obese individuals.

These findings are the first to suggest that oral vitamin C supplementation provides an effective prophylaxis against exercise-induced free radical-mediated lipid peroxidation in human diabetic blood.

VC supplementation prevented endurance exercise-induced lipid peroxidation and muscle damage but had no effect on inflammatory markers.

Daily oral consumption of 1 g of vitamin C during a 4 wk high-intensity interval training period does not impair training-induced improvements in the exercise performance of recreationally active males.

Molecular mediators of endogenous ROS defense (superoxide dismutases 1 and 2; glutathione peroxidase) were also induced by exercise, and this effect too was blocked by antioxidant supplementation. Consistent with the concept of mitohormesis, exercise-induced oxidative stress ameliorates insulin resistance and causes an adaptive response promoting endogenous antioxidant defense capacity. Supplementation with antioxidants may preclude these health-promoting effects of exercise in humans.

However there was a significant reduction in CK in serum of the E-supplemented group. A trend toward decrease in GOT, GPT, and LDH was observed with alpha-tocopherol supplementation. Moreover, significantly reduced malondialdehyde serum levels were measured in the E-supplemented group. The findings indicate a protective effect of alpha-tocopherol supplementation against oxidative stress induced by strenuous exercise.

In conclusion, this study supports the contention that moderate zinc deficiency occurs frequently in subjects with NIDDM.

In the elderly, zinc supplementation accelerated the serum IGF-I response to EAA-W protein by 1 week and decreased a biochemical marker of bone resorption.

Chromium supplementation did not augment glycogen synthesis during recovery from high-intensity exercise and high-carbohydrate feeding, although there was a trend for lower PI 3-kinase activity.

The data confirm an ergogenic benefit of ingesting CHO during exercise designed to imitate sports like basketball, soccer, and hockey, but do not support the hypothesis that the addition of Cr would enhance this effect.

The authors observed a significantly greater NO and oxidative-stress increase with exercise (MDA, Rmax, CDmax, and NO) in the n-3 LCPUFA group than with placebo. No main or interaction effects were found for retinol and α-tocopherol. These results indicate that supplementation with n-3 LCPUFAs significantly increased oxidative stress at rest and after a judo-training session.

The fold change in PGC-1α, SIRT1, and SOD2 gene expression following training was significantly (p < 0.05) lower in the RSV group than placebo. These results suggest that concurrent exercise training and RSV supplementation may alter the normal training response induced by low-volume HIIT.