Original articles  BODY COMPOSITION, NUTRITION, SUPPLEMENTATION 

The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2010 March;50(1):52-6

Copyright © 2010 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

A single oral intake of arginine does not affect performance during repeated Wingate anaerobic test

Olek R. A. ^{1, 2}, Ziemann E. ³, Grzywacz T. ³, Kujach S. ³, Luszczyk M. ³, Antosiewicz J. ¹. ², Laskowski R. ³ ✉

¹ Biochemistry Department, Academy of Physical Education and Sport, Gorskiego 1, 80-336 Gdansk, Poland; ² Department of Bioenergetics and Physiology of Exercise, Medical University of Gdansk Gdansk, Poland; ³ Physiology Department, Academy of Physical Education and Sport, Gdansk, Poland

AIM: The ergogenic effect of arginine has been demonstrated in research focusing on its intake before exercise. However, in these studies, the effect of arginine in combination with other various metabolites were assessed. The aim of this study was to determine whether a single oral intake of arginine, without any other compounds, 60 minutes prior to exercise, modifies performance and exercise metabolism during a repeated Wingate anaerobic test.
METHODS: Six healthy, active, but not highly trained volunteers participated in the study. Subjects performed three 30s all-out supramaximal Wingate Anaerobic Tests (WAnTs) with 4 minute-interval rest periods between WAnTs.
RESULTS: Arginine ingestion before exercise did not influence physical performance. Triple WAnTs resulted in a marked increase in white blood cell (WBC) count, lactate and ammonia concentrations, however there were no differences between arginine and the placebo trials.
CONCLUSION: Our data indicated that 2 g of arginine ingested in a single dose, neither induced nitrite/nitrate (NOx) concentrations changes, nor improved physical performance.