Interesting little study on BCAA

[Beast]

Life Sci. 2006 Apr 22; [Epub ahead of print]
Related Articles, Links


Effect of chronic supplementation with branched-chain amino acids on the performance and hepatic and muscle glycogen content in trained rats.

de Araujo JA Jr, Falavigna G, Rogero MM, Pires IS, Pedrosa RG, Castro IA, Donato J Jr, Tirapegui J.

Department of Food and Experimental Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a diet supplemented with branched-chain amino acids (BCAA; 3.57% and 4.76%) on the performance and glycogen metabolism of trained rats. Thirty-six adult male Wistar rats received the control diet (AIN-93M) (n=12) and two diets supplemented with BCAA (S1: AIN-93M+3.57% BCAA, n=12, and S2: AIN-93M+4.76% BCAA, n=12) for 6 weeks. The training protocol consisted of bouts of swimming exercise (60 min day(-1)) for 6 weeks at intensities close to the lactate threshold. On the last day of the experiment, all groups were trained for 1 h (1H) or were submitted to the exhaustion test (EX). The time to exhaustion did not differ between groups. The groups submitted to the exhaustion test presented a reduction in plasma glucose and an increase in plasma ammonia and blood lactate concentrations compared to the 1H condition. In the 1H condition, hepatic glycogen concentration was significantly higher in group S2 compared to the control diet and S1 groups (132% and 44%, respectively). Group S2 in the 1H condition presented a higher muscle glycogen concentration (45%) compared to the control diet group. In the EX condition, a significantly higher hepatic glycogen concentration was observed for group S2 compared to the control diet and S1 groups (262% and 222%, respectively). Chronic supplementation with BCAA promoted a higher hepatic and muscle glycogen concentration in trained animals, with this effect being dose dependent.

PMID: 16698042 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Yes it was done on rats, but it is still applicable to humans. BCAA probably lead to higher glycogen levels due to sparing glycogen and gluconeogenesis.

[Scivation]

Megadosing BEEEEYATCH!!

[Sixpack]

Word

Originally Posted by Scivation

Megadosing BEEEEYATCH!!

[cobain67]

....Trained rats r cool

I love my BCAA's

[mivi320]

Gotta love Xtend

[Yaaju]

I read an interesting study very similar to this on a product called VAAM which on the whole has a very high concentration of BCAA's. The results were pretty much identical to this study and the researchers concluded that the BCAA's allowed the body to more easily utilise fat as an energy source and therefore spare glycogen use.

I have a link to this study at home and will post it tomorrow.

[Yaaju]

Sorry about the delay.
This is the link to the study I was refering to: http://www.vaam-energy.com/vaam_studies.html

The basics are: Supplementation with amino acids, especially branched chain amino acids (BCAA), improves exercise activity. apparently by preventing the catabolism of muscular proteins during exercise (4). However, it is not known whether supplementation with specific components of other amino acids will improve physiological condition as well as exercise performance.

[Beast]

Originally Posted by Yaaju

Sorry about the delay.
This is the link to the study I was refering to: http://www.vaam-energy.com/vaam_studies.html

The basics are: Supplementation with amino acids, especially branched chain amino acids (BCAA), improves exercise activity. apparently by preventing the catabolism of muscular proteins during exercise (4). However, it is not known whether supplementation with specific components of other amino acids will improve physiological condition as well as exercise performance.

Good stuff

[str8flexed]

Originally Posted by Beast

Life Sci. 2006 Apr 22; [Epub ahead of print]
Related Articles, Links


Effect of chronic supplementation with branched-chain amino acids on the performance and hepatic and muscle glycogen content in trained rats.

de Araujo JA Jr, Falavigna G, Rogero MM, Pires IS, Pedrosa RG, Castro IA, Donato J Jr, Tirapegui J.

Department of Food and Experimental Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a diet supplemented with branched-chain amino acids (BCAA; 3.57% and 4.76%) on the performance and glycogen metabolism of trained rats. Thirty-six adult male Wistar rats received the control diet (AIN-93M) (n=12) and two diets supplemented with BCAA (S1: AIN-93M+3.57% BCAA, n=12, and S2: AIN-93M+4.76% BCAA, n=12) for 6 weeks. The training protocol consisted of bouts of swimming exercise (60 min day(-1)) for 6 weeks at intensities close to the lactate threshold. On the last day of the experiment, all groups were trained for 1 h (1H) or were submitted to the exhaustion test (EX). The time to exhaustion did not differ between groups. The groups submitted to the exhaustion test presented a reduction in plasma glucose and an increase in plasma ammonia and blood lactate concentrations compared to the 1H condition. In the 1H condition, hepatic glycogen concentration was significantly higher in group S2 compared to the control diet and S1 groups (132% and 44%, respectively). Group S2 in the 1H condition presented a higher muscle glycogen concentration (45%) compared to the control diet group. In the EX condition, a significantly higher hepatic glycogen concentration was observed for group S2 compared to the control diet and S1 groups (262% and 222%, respectively). Chronic supplementation with BCAA promoted a higher hepatic and muscle glycogen concentration in trained animals, with this effect being dose dependent.

PMID: 16698042 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Yes it was done on rats, but it is still applicable to humans. BCAA probably lead to higher glycogen levels due to sparing glycogen and gluconeogenesis.

probably because a BCAA dose increases the synthesis and release of alanine & glutamine from the muscle tissue which is in turn taken up by the liver (& gut) & the liver uses it to synthesize glucose.

-Layne

[Beast]

Originally Posted by str8flexed

probably because a BCAA dose increases the synthesis and release of alanine & glutamine from the muscle tissue which is in turn taken up by the liver (& gut) & the liver uses it to synthesize glucose.

-Layne

aka Gluconeogenesis.