β-Alanine Supplementation Does Not Augment the Skeletal Muscle Adaptive Response to 6 Weeks of Sprint Interval Training

Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2015 Dec;25(6):541-9. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.2015-0046. Epub 2015 May 22.

Abstract

Sprint interval training (SIT), repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise, improves skeletal muscle oxidative capacity and exercise performance. β-alanine (β-ALA) supplementation has been shown to enhance exercise performance, which led us to hypothesize that chronic β-ALA supplementation would augment work capacity during SIT and augment training-induced adaptations in skeletal muscle and performance. Twenty-four active but untrained men (23 ± 2 yr; VO2peak = 50 ± 6 mL · kg(-1) · min(-1)) ingested 3.2 g/day of β-ALA or a placebo (PLA) for a total of 10 weeks (n = 12 per group). Following 4 weeks of baseline supplementation, participants completed a 6-week SIT intervention. Each of 3 weekly sessions consisted of 4-6 Wingate tests, i.e., 30-s bouts of maximal cycling, interspersed with 4 min of recovery. Before and after the 6-week SIT program, participants completed a 250-kJ time trial and a repeated sprint test. Biopsies (v. lateralis) revealed that skeletal muscle carnosine content increased by 33% and 52%, respectively, after 4 and 10 weeks of β-ALA supplementation, but was unchanged in PLA. Total work performed during each training session was similar across treatments. SIT increased markers of mitochondrial content, including cytochome c oxidase (40%) and β-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase maximal activities (19%), as well as VO2peak (9%), repeated-sprint capacity (5%), and 250-kJ time trial performance (13%), but there were no differences between treatments for any measure (p < .01, main effects for time; p > .05, interaction effects). The training stimulus may have overwhelmed any potential influence of β-ALA, or the supplementation protocol was insufficient to alter the variables to a detectable extent.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Physiological
  • Adult
  • Carnosine / chemistry
  • Dietary Supplements
  • Double-Blind Method
  • Exercise / physiology
  • Exercise Test
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mitochondria / drug effects
  • Mitochondria / physiology
  • Muscle, Skeletal / drug effects
  • Muscle, Skeletal / physiology*
  • Oxygen Consumption
  • Physical Conditioning, Human*
  • Sports Nutritional Physiological Phenomena*
  • Young Adult
  • beta-Alanine / administration & dosage*

Substances

  • beta-Alanine
  • Carnosine