Chronic lactate supplementation does not improve blood buffering capacity and repeated high-intensity exercise

Author(s)

Oliveira, L. F. ^[1] ; de Salles Painelli, V. ^[1] ; Nemezio, K. ^[1] ; Goncalves, L. S. ^[1] ; Yamaguchi, G. ^[1] ; Saunders, B. ^[1] ; Gualano, B. ^[1] ; Artioli, G. G. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Appl Physiol & Nutr Res Grp, Av Mello de Moraes 65, BR-05508030 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINE & SCIENCE IN SPORTS; v. 27, n. 11, p. 1231-1239, NOV 2017.
• Web of Science Citations: 3

Abstract

Since there is conflicting data on the buffering and ergogenic properties of calcium lactate (CL), we investigated the effect of chronic CL supplementation on blood pH, bicarbonate, and high-intensity intermittent exercise performance. Sodium bicarbonate (SB) was used as a positive control. Eighteen athletes participated in this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover, fully counterbalanced study. All participants underwent three different treatments: placebo (PL), CL, and SB. The dose was identical in all conditions: 500mg/kg BM divided into four daily individual doses of 125mg/kg BM, for five consecutive days, followed by a 2-7-day washout period. On the fifth day of supplementation, individuals undertook four 30-s Wingate bouts for upper body with 3-min recovery between bouts. Total mechanical work (TMW) for the overall protocol and for the initial (1st+2nd) and final (3rd+4th) bouts was determined at each session. Blood pH, bicarbonate, and lactate levels were determined at rest, immediately and 5min after exercise. CL supplementation did not affect performance (P>0.05 for the overall TMW as well for initial and final bouts), nor did it affect blood bicarbonate and pH prior to exercise. SB supplementation improved performance by 2.9% for overall TMW (P=0.02) and 5.9% in the 3rd+4th bouts (P=0001). Compared to the control session, SB also promoted higher increases in blood bicarbonate than CL and PL (+0.03 +/- 0.04 vs +0.009 +/- 0.02 and +0.01 +/- 0.03, respectively). CL supplementation was not capable of enhancing high-intensity intermittent performance or changing extracellular buffering capacity challenging the notion that this dietary supplement is an effective buffering agent. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/14746-4 - Carnosine metabolism in skeletal muscle: a multi-approach study
• Grantee: Bruno Gualano
• Support type: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 14/11948-8 - Life without carnosine: development and characterization of a KO rat model for studying the physiological role of carnosine and its implications to physical exercise and muscle metabolism
• Grantee: Guilherme Giannini Artioli
• Support type: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/04806-0 - Effects of 12 weeks of high-intensity intermittent training on intramuscular carnosine concentrations
• Grantee: Vitor de Salles Painelli
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate