Abstract
β-Alanine (BA) supplementation has become an ergogenic aid amongst competitive athletes to augment intramuscular carnosine content, leading to higher buffer capacity and exercise performance. We investigated 27 regularly trained young males and females who were randomly allocated either to placebo (PL) or BA ingestion for 8 weeks. Every single day, BA or PL (4.0–5.6 g day−1) supplements were ingested by participants and associated with a strong plyometric high-intensity training (two sessions per week during the 8 weeks). Before and after training, maximal jump heights were recorded during squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ) and an index of fatigue was recorded as a mean height of 45 consecutive CMJ. Blood lactate was measured at rest, after completing the fatigue test and every 5 min thereafter up to 30 min recovery. After plyometric training, SJ and CMJ were increased, respectively, by 8.8 and 6.4 % in PL group and 9.9 and 11.0 % in BA group (p < 0.01, no difference between groups). Blood lactate reached a maximal value of 9.4 ± 1.6 mmol l−1 in PL group, and 10.3 ± 1.3 mmol l−1 in BA group, with a slight better performance in the fatigue test (+8.6 %, p ≤ 0.01) for BA group as compared to PL group. To conclude, 2-month β-alanine supplementation resulted in a slight improvement of explosive force after 45 maximal consecutive jumps in young athletes. However, the practical adequacy of supplementation remains questionable in an active and healthy population.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bellinger PM (2014) β-Alanine supplementation for the athletic performance: an update. J Strength Cond Res 28:1751–1770
Bex T, Chung W, Baguet A, Stegen S, Stautemas S, Achten E, Derave W (2014) Muscle carnosine loading by beta-alanine supplementation is more pronounced in trained vs untrained muscles. J Appl Physiol 116:204–209
Bobbert ME (2014) Effect of unloading and loading on power in simulated countermovement and squat jumps. Med Sci Sports Exerc 46:1176–1184
Bobbert ME, Gerritsen KG, Litjens MC, Van Soest AJ (1996) Why is countermovement jump height greater than squat jump height? Med Sci Sports Exerc 28:1402–1412
Bosco CP, Luhtanen P, Komi PV (1983) A simple method for measurement of mechanical power of jumping. Eur J Appl Physiol 50:273–282
Caruso J, Charles J, Unruh K, Giebel R, Learmonth L, Potter W (2012) Ergogenic effects of β-alanine and carnosine: proposed future research to quantify their efficency. Nutrients 4:585–601
Chung W, Shaw G, Anderson ME, Pyne DB, Saunders PU, Bishop DJ, Burke LM (2012) Effect of 10 week beta-alanine supplementation on competition and training performance in elite swimmers. Nutrients 4:1441–1453
Culbertson JY, Kreider RB, Greenwood M, Cooke M (2010) Effects of beta-alanine on muscle carnosine and exercise performance: a review of the current literature. Nutrients 2:75–98
Décombaz J, Beaumont M, Vuichoud J, Bouisset F, Stellingwerff T (2012) Effect of slow-release β-alanine tablets on absorption kinetics and paresthesia. Amino Acids 43:67–76
Derave W, Özdemir MS, Harris RC, Pottier A, Reyngoudt H, Koppo K, Achten E (2007) β-Alanine supplementation augments muscle carnosine content and attenuates fatigue during repeated isokinetic contraction bouts in trained sprinters. J Appl Physiol 103:1728–1736
Ducker KJ, Dawson B, Wallman KE (2013) Effect of beta-alanine supplementation on 800 m running performance. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 23:554–561
Garcia-Lopez J, Peleteiro J, Rodgriguez-Marroyo JA, Morante JC, Herrero JA, Villa JG (2005) The validation of a new method that measures contact and fligh times during vertical jump. Int J Sports Med 26:294–302
Glatthorn J, Gouge S, Nussbaumer S, Stauffacher S, Impellizzeri FM, Maffiuletti NA (2011) Validity and reliability of Optojump photoelectric cells for estimation vertical jump height. J Strength Cond Res 25:556–560
Gross M, Bieri K, Hoppeler H, Norman B, Vogt M (2014a) Beta-alanine supplementation improves jumping power and affects severe-intensity performance in professional alpine skier. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 24:665–673
Gross M, Boesch C, Bolliger CS, Norman B, Gustafsson T, Hoppeler H, Vogt H (2014b) Effects of beta-alanine supplementation and interval training on physiological determinants of severe performance. Eur J Appl Physiol 114:221–234
Harris RC, Sale C (2012) Beta-alanine supplementation in high-intensity exercise. Med Sport Sci 59:1–17
Harris RC, Tallon MJ, Dunnett M, Boobis L, Coakley J, Kim HJ, Wise JA (2006) The absorption of orally supplied β-alanine and its effect on muscle carnosine synthesis in human vastus lateralis. Amino Acids 30:279–289
Hobson RM, Harris RC, Martin D, Smith P, Macklin B, Gualano B, Sale C (2013) Effect of beta-alanine with and without sodium bicarbonate on 2000 m rowing performance. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 23:480–487
Hoffman JR, Emerson NS, Stout JR (2012) β-Alanine supplementation. Curr Sports Med Rep 11:189–195
Howe ST, Bellinger PM, Driller MW, Shing CM, Fell JW (2013) The effect of beta-alanine supplementation on isokinetic force and cycling performance in highly trained cyclists. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 23:562–570
Kendric IP, Harris RC, Kim HJ, Kim CK, Dang VH, Lam MT (2008) Effect of 10 weeks resistance training combined with β-alanine supplementation on whole body strength, force production, muscular endurance and body composition. Amino Acids 34:547–554
Kresta JY, Oliver JM, Jagim AR, Fluckey S, Kelly K, Meininger C, Mertens-Talcott SU, Rasmussen C, Kreider RB (2014) Effects of 28 days of beta-alanine and creatine supplementation on muscle carnosine, body composition and exercise performance in recreationally active females. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 11:55–69
McMurray RG, Hackney AC (2005) Interactions of metabolic hormones, adipose tissue and exercise. Sports Med 35:393–412
Painelli VdS, Saunders B, Sale C, Harris RC, Solis MY, Roschel H, Gualano B, Artioli GG, Jr Lancha AH (2014) Influence of training status on high-intensity intermittent performance in response to β-alanine supplementation. Amino Acids 46:1207–1215
Quesnele JJ, Laframboise MA, Wong JJ, Kim P, Wells GD (2014) The effects of beta-alanine supplementation on performance: a systematic review of the literature. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 24:14–27
Sale C, Artioli GG, Gualano B, Saunders B, Hobson RM, Harris RC (2013) Carnosine: from exercise performance to health. Amino Acids 44:1477–1491
Sebert P, Barthelemy L, Dietman Y, Douguet C, Boulay JA (1990) A simple device for measuring a vertical jump: description and results. Eur J Appl Physiol 61:271–273
Acknowledgments
We are indebted to Hedelab (Belgium) for the two food supplementations (placebo and β-alanine).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical standard
Statement of human rights: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional committee and with the 1964 Helsinski declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Statement on the welfare of animals: This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.
Informed consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Handling Editor: G. Lubec.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Carpentier, A., Olbrechts, N., Vieillevoye, S. et al. β-Alanine supplementation slightly enhances repeated plyometric performance after high-intensity training in humans. Amino Acids 47, 1479–1483 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-015-1981-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-015-1981-6