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E ec o sodium bica bona e and be a-alanine supplemen a ion on maximal sp in
swimming
Me o, An i; Hi onen, Pe i; Saa ela, Janne; Hulmi, Juha; Ho man, Jay R; S ou ,
Je ey R
Me o, A., Hi onen, P., Saa ela, J., Hulmi, J., Ho man, J. R., & S ou , J. R. (2013).
E ec o sodium bica bona e and be a-alanine supplemen a ion on maximal sp in
swimming. Jou nal o he In e na ional Socie y o Spo s Nu i ion, 10(1), 52.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1186/1550-2783-10-52
2013
RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access
E ec o sodium bica bona e and be a-alanine
supplemen a ion on maximal sp in swimming
An i A Me o
1*
, Pe i Hi onen
1
, Janne Saa ela
1
, Juha J Hulmi
1
, Jay R Ho man
2
and Je ey R S ou
2
Abs ac
Backg ound: This s udy examined he e ec o simul aneous supplemen a ion o ex acellula bu e sodium
bica bona e (SB) and in acellula bu e be a-alanine (BA) on maximal sp in swimming.
Me hods: Thi een compe i i e male swimme s comple ed 4 di e en ea men s (placebo [PL], SB, BA + PL, and
BA + SB) in a c osso e p ocedu e. PL o SB supplemen a ion (0.3 g/kg body weigh ) was inges ed 60 min be o e
wo maximal 100-m ees yle swims ha we e pe o med wi h a passi e eco e y o 12-min be ween each swim.
Because o he known long washou pe iod o ca nosine, ou weeks o BA supplemen a ion (4.8 g pe day) was
s a ed a e he i s week o PL o SB supplemen a ion and pe o mance es ing.
Resul s: The i s maximal swims we e simila , bu he inc ease in ime o he second e sus he i s 100-m
swimming ime was 1.5 s mo e (p < 0.05) in PL han in SB. Blood pH alues we e signi ican ly (p < 0.05) g ea e in
he SB and in he BA + SB g oups compa ed o he PL and BA + PL alues. The e we e no di e ences in peak blood
lac a e be ween he ea men s.
Conclusion: Supplemen ing wi h SB p io o pe o ming maximal sp in swimming wi h epe i ions unde 60 s
imp o es pe o mance. Howe e , co-supplemen a ion wi h SB and BA did no con e any added bene i on maximal
swim pe o mance.
Keywo ds: Alkalosis, Anae obic exe cise, Bu e , E gogenic aid
Backg ound
Du ing in ensi e anae obic exe cise wi h a la ge glycoly ic
componen , one majo cause o a igue is belie ed o be
acidosis caused by high le els o hyd ogen ions (H
+
)in he
muscle ibe s. The inc ease in (H
+
)co esponds oade-
c ease in muscle and blood pH [1], can slow glycolysis [2],
in e e e wi h calcium elease om he endoplasmic
e iculum and calcium ion binding [3,4], and inc ease he
pe cep ion o a igue a e some ypes o exe cises [5]. A
numbe o bu e s can be used by he body, bu he
p ima y me hod o bu e ing he H
+
is hough o be
ei he bica bona e o hemoglobin [6]. Fo he pas
35 yea s, se e al s udies ha e in es iga ed he use o so-
dium bica bona e (SB) as an e gogenic aid. The pa ici-
pan s ha e ypically been men, and e icacy (imp o ed
pe o mance and a dec ease in H
+
concen a ion a e
exe cise) has gene ally been seen a doses o a leas 0.3g·
kg
-1
body mass [7-9].
A ecen me a-analysis by Ca e al. [10] sugges s ha
inges ion o SB a 0.3 - 0.5g·kg
-1
body mass imp o es
mean powe by 1.7 ± 2.0% du ing high-in ensi y aces o
sho du a ion (1–10 min). Timing o inges ion anging
om 60 min - 180 min be o e exe cise did no in luence
bu e ing capaci y o he e gogenic po en ial o SB
(0.3g·kg
-1
body mass) as assessed by epea ed sp in
abili y. Howe e , isual analog scale sco es indica ed ha
a 180 minu es pos -inges ion, an indi idual is less p one
o expe iencing signi ican gas oin es inal discom o
[11]. Gao e al. [3] and Siegle e al. [12] ha e demon-
s a ed ha swimme s inges ing 0.3g·kg
-1
body mass o
SB can enhance blood bu e ing po en ial and posi i ely
in luence in e al swim pe o mance. Lindh and col-
leagues [13] ha e also shown ha SB supplemen a ion
(0.3g·kg
-1
body mass) can imp o e a single 200 m ee-
s yle pe o mance ime in eli e male compe i o s, mos
likely by inc easing ex a-cellula bu e ing capaci y.
* Co espondence: [email p o ec ed]
1
Depa men o Biology o Physical Ac i i y, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, P.O. Box 35,
Jy äskylä 40351, Finland
Full lis o au ho in o ma ion is a ailable a he end o he a icle
© 2013 Me o e al.; licensee BioMed Cen al L d. This is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e
Commons A ibu ion License (h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/2.0), which pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and
ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed.
Me o e al. Jou nal o he In e na ional Socie y o Spo s Nu i ion 2013, 10:52
h p://www.jissn.com/con en /10/1/52
Be a-alanine (BA) is a non-essen ial amino acid ha
combines wi h L-his idine, o o m he dipep ide ca no-
sine. BA is hough o be he a e-limi ing s ep in he syn-
hesis o ca nosine [14]. Ca nosine ac s as an in acellula
bu e du ing high-in ensi y exe cise [15-18], and ele-
a ions in muscle ca nosine concen a ion ha e been
demons a ed o enhance cycling capaci y [18], en ila o y
h eshold, and delay a igue [19]. A ecen me a-analysis
[20] has shown a signi ican e gogenic e ec o BA supple-
men a ion du ing high in ensi y exe cise las ing 60–240 s
in du a ion. Howe e , he e icacy o BA supplemen a ion
du ing single exe cise du a ions sho e han 60 s du a-
ions is no clea . Al hough he e icacy o BA on epea ed
sp in pe o mance is no e y well known, s udies exa-
mining BA and esis ance aining pe o mance ha e indi-
ca ed signi ican inc eases in aining olume [21,22],
sugges ing ha BA inges ion would be bene icial o e-
pe i i e high in ensi y exe cise ac i i ies.
The e appea s o be only a limi ed numbe o s udies
ha ha e examined a combina ion o wo supplemen al
bu e s on exe cise pe o mance. Me o and colleagues
[23] indica ed ha he combined inges ion o SB and
c ea ine (C ) enhanced pe o mance in wo consecu i e
maximal e o 100-m swims wi h a 10 min eco e y o
a g ea e ex en han inges ion o he supplemen s sepa-
a ely. Ho man e al. [22] we e he i s o examine he
combina ion o bo h BA and C supplemen s. Resul s o
hei s udy demons a ed ha his combina ion signi i-
can ly imp o ed he aining olume mo e han c ea ine
alone. Speci ically, imp o emen s in aining olume
we e ound o be associa ed wi h signi ican ly g ea e
gains in lean body mass and dec eases in a mass. Sale
e al. [24] in es iga ed he e ec s o he combina ion o
SB and BA (4 weeks loading) on high in ensi y cycling
endu ance pe o mance and ound ha BA alone im-
p o ed cycling capaci y. Despi e a 6 s imp o emen in
ime o exhaus ion wi h he addi ion o SB, i did no
each s a is ical signi icance. In ano he cycling s udy
[25] acu e SB supplemen a ion signi ican ly imp o ed
4-min cycling pe o mance, bu he e seemed o be only
a minimal addi i e e ec o combined BA and SB sup-
plemen a ion. In he s udy by Hobson e al. [26] i was
shown ha bo h ch onic BA and acu e SB supplemen a-
ion alone had posi i e e ec s on 2000 m owing endu -
ance pe o mance. The addi ion o acu e SB o ch onic
BA supplemen a ion may u he enhance owing pe -
o mance. Ch onic BA and SB supplemen a ion alone
equally enhanced high-in ensi y in e mi en maximal
uppe -body pe o mance (4 × 30 s wi h h ee minu es
eco e y) in well- ained a hle es and combining BA and
SB p omo ed a clea addi i e e gogenic e ec [27].
Ducke e al. [28] in es iga ed i combining BA and SB
could lead o enhanced epea ed-sp in pe o mance
(3 se s; 6 × 20 m depa ing e e y 25 s, 4 minu es
eco e y be ween se s). They concluded ha supple-
men a ion wi h acu e SB imp o ed epea ed-sp in pe -
o mance mo e han ei he a combina ion o SB and BA
o BA alone. In a ecen s udy [29] he swimme s swam
maximally a i s 200 m and hen 100 m wi h 30 minu es
eco e y. BA and SB supplemen a ion imp o ed bo h
200 m and 100 m swimming pe o mance. The co-
inges ion o BA and SB induced a u he nonsigni ican
imp o emen in pe o mance. The pe o mance ime in
100 m was a li le bi o e 60 s (60–64 s). This ime limi
60 s [20] is in e es ing in aces e.g. in swimming (100 m)
and in unning (400 m). Ea lie Sos a ic e al. [30]
epo ed ha SB supplemen a ion lowe ed ci cula ing po-
assium, enhanced muscle po assium up ake and sodium
deli e y wi h alkalosis, bu he e a e no s udies wi h BA
supplemen a ion. These physiological changes a e all
in e es ing wi h p ese a ion o memb ane exci abili y
du ing exe cise [30]. The e o e, he pu pose o p esen
s udy was o examine mo e he e ec o SB (ex acellula
bu e ), BA (in acellula bu e ) and he combina ion o
SB wi h BA on a maximal sp in pe o mance unde 60 s
in swimme s in a simula ed compe i ion.
Me hods
Pa icipan s
Thi een na ional and in e na ional le el male swimme s
(mean ± SD: age 20.5 ±1.4 yea s, body mass 80.1 ±
8.1 kg, heigh 188 ± 8 cm, haemoglobin 150 ± 6 g · l
-1
(a e age o he i s and hi d es day), 100 m ees yle
eco d 54.44 ± 2.41 s) we e ec ui ed om he local
swimming eam o se e as pa icipan s. All swimme s
exe cised in he same aining g oup. Each pa icipan
p o ided a w i en in o med consen , and was ee o
wi hd aw om he s udy a any ime. This s udy was
app o ed by E hics Commi ee o he local Uni e si y.
Expe imen al design and supplemen a ion
Expe imen aldesignisshowninFigu e1.In he i s
pa o he s udy he pa icipan s inges ed gela ine
co e ed capsules con aining SB (1 g pe capsule) o he
placebo (calcium ca bona e). Each pa icipan was p o-
ided a dose equi alen o 0.3g·kg
-1
body mass. The cap-
sules we e weighed o ensu e he co ec amoun o
subs ance in each capsule. Pa icipan s we e p o ided
wi h he SB supplemen o wi h he placebo 60 minu es
p io o pe o ming he swimming p o ocol. This pa o
he expe imen s was andomized and double blinded.
SB and calcium ca bona e we e acqui ed om he local
pha macy.
In addi ion o he acu e SB o placebo inges ion, in he
second pa o he s udy he pa icipan s we e p o ided
a daily dose o BA o a 4-week pe iod. Each pa icipan
was p o ided gela ine coa ed capsules, each con aining
0.6 g o BA. Pa icipan s inges ed eigh capsules pe day
Me o e al. Jou nal o he In e na ional Socie y o Spo s Nu i ion 2013, 10:52 Page 2 o 9
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in 1.5 - 2 h in e als h oughou he 4 week pe iod; he e-
o e he o al consump ion o BA pe day was 4.8 g [31].
Pa icipan s we e ins uc ed o consume he capsules a
he same ime e e y day which was con olled e bally by
he esea che s. The subjec s and he esea che s knew
ha e e y subjec was consuming BA du ing a 4-week
pe iod (unblinded). A e he pe iod he pa icipan s we e
p o ided wi h he SB supplemen o wi h he placebo sup-
plemen 60 minu es p io o pe o ming he swimming
p o ocol. Also his pa o he expe imen s was andom-
ized and double blinded. The subjec s we e old o keep a
ood dia y o 24 hou s p io o all es s, and o main ain
simila ea ing habi s and ood p io o each es . All es s
occu ed a he beginning o he week (Monday &
Tuesday), ollowing a es day. BA o he cu en s udy
was p o ided by Manninen Nu aceu icals L d. (Oulu,
Finland). Be a-alanine was no es ed o con amina ion
wi h s imulan s o anabolic agen s, howe e , he spon-
so ing company had ce i ica ion on he quali y o hei
be a-alanine p oduc ha i did no con ain any banned
subs ances.
Tes day
The ime line o he es day is shown in Figu e 1B. On
each es day pa icipan s consumed a sel -p epa ed
b eak as and a i ed a he pool. Pa icipan s we e
g ouped in pai s and we e eques ed o a i e a 45 minu e
in e als o ensu e a smoo h low o es ing. Appoin men
imes o each subjec occu ed a he same ime o he
day o bo h p e and pos es ing sessions. Ac ual pe o -
mance es ing ook place in a 50-m pool du ing he
a e noon. The wa e empe a u e du ing all es s was
kep cons an a 26.5° - 27.0°C and ai empe a u e in he
hall was 22° - 23°C. Pa icipan s p o ided hei ood dia-
ies, and es ing blood samples we e ob ained. They we e
hen p o ided ei he wi h he SB supplemen o he pla-
cebo 60 minu es p io o swimming. Following supple-
men inges ion he pa icipan s es ed o 40 minu es by
he pool. Easy walking and s e ching was allowed du ing
his ime. A e 40 minu es he subjec s wen o he pool
o pe o m an 800-m s anda dized wa m up. A e he
wa m up, he ac ual es began. The es i sel consis ed o
2 × 100-m maximal ees yle sp in s wi h a 12 min passi e
es in e al be ween each sp in . Jus be o e he i s
swim, a blood sample was aken. The swimme s pe -
o med in pai s o c ea e a compe i i e a mosphe e and o
mo i a e hem o maximize hei pe o mance. The swim-
me s we e pai ed acco ding o hei indi idual eco ds in
he 100-m ees yle. E e y swim was imed wi h wo expe-
ienced pe sons using s op-wa ches and hei a e age
alue was used as he inal swimming ime. In all swim-
ming imes (n = 104) o he wo ime s, in e class co el-
a ion (ICC) was 0.99, s anda d e o o measu emen
(SEM) was 0.16 seconds, and no signi ican di e ence was
obse ed be ween he imes o he wo pe sons (57.2 ±
2.3 s and 57.2 ± 2.3 s). Subjec s we e also eques ed o
epo all any side e ec s o he in es iga o s.
Blood collec ion and analysis
On he es day a o al o six blood samples we e ob-
ained om e e y subjec a six measu emen poin s
(Figu e 1B). Whole blood samples we e aken om a
100 m 100 m
Time (min)
-60 -20 -2 2 8 2 8
P e I P e 2 I II III IV Measu emen
BBBBBB
SB o BL
Tes 1
SB o
PL
Tes 2
SB o
PL
Tes 3
SB o
PL
Tes 4
SB o
PL
4 weeks loading o
BA
1
wk
1
wk
A)
B)
Figu e 1 Expe imen al design. A) Swim es days 1–4, B) Timeline o each es day, SB = sodium bica bona e, PL = placebo and BA = Be a-alanine
supplemen a ion, B = blood sample, 2 x 100 m swimming (swim 1 and 2).
Me o e al. Jou nal o he In e na ional Socie y o Spo s Nu i ion 2013, 10:52 Page 3 o 9
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inge by using a s e ile lance , he i s d op o blood was
disca ded, and ee low blood was collec ed in a balanced
hepa in 200-mL blood gas capilla y ube. Two p e-
exe cise samples we e ob ained a 60 min (P e 1) and
2 min (P e 2) p io o commencing exe cise, and pos
exe cise blood samples we e aken 2- and 8-min ollowing
each swim (I –IV, espec i ely). In addi ion, on he i s
and hi d measu emen day a blood sample (2 ml) was ob-
ained om a o ea m ein using a needle and sy inge.
Blood samples we e collec ed in o an EDTA- acuum ube
o analyse haemoglobin.
All blood samples we e analysed wi hin six hou s a e
collec ion. Blood lac a e (B-Lac a e), blood pH (B-pH),
blood po assium (B-Po assium), blood sodium (B-Sodium),
blood bica bona e (B-Bica bona e), blood base excess (B-
Base excess) we e analysed om all samples. The de ice
used o measu e lac a e was an elec o-chemical based
EKF Biosen C-line Spo (EKF Diagnos ic, Magdebu g,
Ge many). The epo ed coe icien o a ia ion (CV) o
he equipmen is 1.5% acco ding he manu ac u e . Blood
gases we e analyzed ins an ly on si e using a GEM P e-
mie 3000 (Ins umen a ion Labo a o y, Lexing on, MA,
USA) ha uses a po en iome ic sys em o analysis. The
manu ac u e epo s ollowing p ecision: in pH 7.15 le el
s anda d de ia ion (SD) is 0.009 and in pH le el 7.46 SD
is 0.005. In addi ion, blood bica bona e and base excess
we e calcula ed. The coe icien o a ia ion o sodium
and po assium measu es was 0.86% and 0.71% in ou
labo a o y, espec i ely. Hemoglobin concen a ions was
analysed using Sysmex KX 21 N (Kobe, Japan) wi h a
CV < 1.5% in ou labo a o y.
Nu i ion
The pa icipan s we e ad ised o main ain hei no mal
die a y habi s du ing he cou se o he s udy. Nu i ional
spo s supplemen s (i.g. c ea ine, ca eine), excep pu e
p o ein o ca bohyd a e, we e o bidden du ing he
s udy. All pa icipan s we e ins uc ed o keep a ood
dia y 24 hou s p io o each es . They we e also
ins uc ed o ea as simila ly (acco ding o he i s ood
dia y) as possible be o e each es . The ood dia ies
we e analysed by using Mic o Nu ica 3.0 so wa e
(Social Insu ance Ins i u ion, Tu ku, Finland). The
mean ± SD ene gy in ake o ou one day ea men s
was 3202 ± 478 kcal (ca bohyd a e 48 ± 4%, p o ein
24 ± 2%, and a 28 ± 4%).
T aining
The pa icipan s we e allowed o ain no mally acco ding
o hei aining p og am. All pa icipan s had a minimum
o ou yea s o compe i i e swimming expe ience. The
s udy occu ed in he beginning o hei aining season,
so ha e e y pa icipan would be in he simila p epa-
a ion phase. The swimme s had six aining days and one
es day pe week. The a e age amoun o aining ses-
sions was nine, bu some swimme s ained 11 imes pe
week (Table 1). A e age leng h o each aining session
was wo hou s. In addi ion o swimming, all pa icipan s
pa icipa ed in h ee esis ance aining sessions pe week
o 60 minu es pe session.
S a is ical me hods
All esul s we e analysed wi h SPSS-s a is ics p og am
(PASW s a is ics 17). Means ± SDs we e calcula ed and
he Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tes was used o e alua e he
di e ences be ween he means. A nonpa ame ic es was
chosen because he da a was no no mally dis ibu ed
es ed wi h he Shapi o-Wilk es . S a is ical compa isons
we e conside ed signi ican when p alues we e < 0.05.
Resul s
Subjec s epo ed no side e ec s ela ed o SB in ake,
bu symp oms o pa aes hesia was expe ienced by all
subjec s consuming BA.
Swimming imes
The e we e no signi ican di e ences in he ime o he
i s 100-m sp in be ween he g oups. In he second
100-m swim, he inc ease in ime o he second e sus
he i s 100-m swimming ime was 1.5 s less (p < 0.05)
in he SB g oup compa ed o he PL g oup (Figu e 2).
No signi ican di e ences we e no ed be ween he i s
o second sp in in ei he BA + SB o BA + PL.
Blood a iables
Lac a e, pH
The e we e no signi ican di e ences be ween he
g oups al hough lac a es in measu emen s III and IV
Table 1 A e age aining week du ing he s udy
Days
Va iable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Physical ac i i y
Mo ning Ae Ae /Anae Res Ae /Anae D ills S eng h Res
E ening Speed S eng h Speed S eng h Speed Ae /Anae
Load Medium High Ligh High Ligh High
Ae = ae obic aining, anae = anae obic aining.
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ended (p < 0.08-0.09) o be g ea e in SB supplemen ed
g oups (Figu e 3A). Blood pH alues (Figu e 3B) we e sig-
ni ican ly (p < 0.05) g ea e in he SB and in he BA + SB
combina ion g oup 2 min be o e he i s swim and in all
measu emen poin s ollowing swimming compa ed o
he PL measu emen alues.
Sodium, po assium
Signi ican ly (p < 0.05) g ea e inc eases in plasma so-
dium concen a ions we e obse ed in SB and in BA +
SB a e e y measu emen poin (excep p e 1) compa ed
o he PL alues. A signi ican dec ease in sodium con-
cen a ions was seen a BA + PL compa ed wi h PL
du ing IV (Figu e 4A). Signi ican ly (p < 0.05) smalle
plasma po assium concen a ions we e obse ed in SB
and in he SB + BA g oups a P e 2, II and III compa ed
o he PL alues (Figu e 4B).
Figu e 2 Swimming imes (mean ± SD) in he supplemen ed
g oups. PL = placebo, SB = sodium bica bona e, BA + PL = be a-alanine
and placebo, BA + SB = be a-alanine and sodium bica bona e,
*Indica es a signi ican di e ence (p < 0.05) compa ed o PL.
Figu e 3 Blood lac a e and pH alues (mean ± SD) in he supplemen ed g oups in di e en measu emen ime poin s. A) Blood lac a e
(B-Lac a e), B) pH (B-pH), PL =placebo, SB =sodiumbica bona e, BA + PL =be a-alanine and placebo, BA + SB =be a-alanine and sodium bica bona e,
p e 1 =60 min be o e swimming, p e 2 =2 min be o e swimming he i s 100 m, I and III 2 min a e bo h 100 m swimming, II and IV 8 min a e bo h
100 m swimming, * Indica es a signi ican (p < 0.05) di e ence compa ed o PL.
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Bica bona e, base excess
The e we e signi ican ly g ea e alues in blood bica -
bona e and base excess alues in SB and in BA + SB a
e e y measu emen poin (excep p e 1) compa ed o
hePL alues(Figu es5Aand5B).
Discussion
Main esul s
The p ima y indings om his in es iga ion we e ha
he e was a signi ican ly less a enua ion in swim ime
o he second 100 m sp in ollowing SB supplemen a-
ion. Howe e , co-supplemen a ion o SB wi h BA did
no add any u he bene i .
Swim imes
The subjec s ha inges ed SB swam he second 100-m
sp in 1.5 s (2.4%) as e compa ed o he PL ial. This
imp o emen con i ms he esul s p e iously epo ed by
Me o e al. [23], who used a simila es ing p o ocol and
epo ed a 0.6 s (p < 0.05) imp o emen in subjec s
inges ing SB. Also in suppo o he p esen esul s,
Gao e al. [4], demons a ed ha p e - exe cise supple-
men a ion wi h SB does no imp o e he i s sp in bu
may be bene icial in la e epe i ions. In swimming aces,
an imp o emen o 1.5 s in pe o mance may ha e a de-
cisi e e ec on success in he inal compe i ion. Du ing
swimming compe i ions swimme s a e o en equi ed
o pe o m mul iple hea s du ing one day [32,33]. Fo
example, in he 2012 London Olympics a emale swimme
came in i s in semi inals 200-m ee s yle and hen won
he gold medal 15 min la e in he 100-m backs oke. In
ou s udy he combined SB and BA supplemen a ion did
no imp o e swimming imes. Recen ly Hobson e al. [26]
showed ha ch onic BA and acu e SB supplemen a ion
imp o ed 2000 m owing pe o mance and hey con-
cluded ha he addi ion o acu e SB o ch onic BA supple-
men a ion may u he enhance owing pe o mance.
They used a BA dose o 6.4 g pe day du ing ou weeks.
In ou s udy we used only 4.8 g pe day o ou weeks.
Muscle ca nosine is impo an in bu e ing and he muscle
Figu e 4 Blood sodium and po assium alues (mean ± SD) in he supplemen ed g oups in di e en measu emen ime poin s.
A) Blood sodium (B-Sodium), B) po assium (B-Po assium), PL =placebo, SB =sodium bica bona e, BA + PL =be a-alanine and placebo,
BA + SB =be a-alanine and sodium bica bona e.p e 1 = 60 min be o e swimming, p e 2 = 2 min be o e swimming he i s 100 m, I and III 2
min a e bo h 100 m swimming, II and IV 8 min a e bo h 100 m swimming, * Indica es a signi ican (p < 0.05) di e ence compa ed o PL.
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con en is dependen on BA inges ion [15] i would be in-
e es ing o use ei he bigge doses and/o longe supple-
men a ion pe iods in u u e s udies.
Blood pH
Blood pH alues we e signi ican ly g ea e when inges ing
SB and wi h SB plus BA supplemen a ion p io o he i s
swim compa ed o PL. The inc ease in blood pH was simi-
la as in he ea lie s udies because he SB dose (0.3g·kg
-1
body mass) used was compa able. Howe e , ime o he
i s swim ial was no imp o ed wi h SB o wi h SB + BA
inges ion. In all ou ea men s ollowing he swim ials,
blood pH alues we e signi ican ly lowe compa ed o
p e- alues. Consequen ly, he second swim ial was pe -
o med in s onge acidosis han he i s , and in his s a e
he bes pe o mances we e seen du ing SB ea men .
These esul s in pa con i m hose by Go don e al. [34],
who obse ed ha he alkalo ic condi ion a enua es he
inc ease in blood H
+
concen a ion. We hypo hesized ha
he ex acellula bu e ing ac ion o SB and he in acellu-
la pH-bu e ing ac ion o ca nosine h ough BA inges ion
would be addi i e, esul ing in an inc eased p o ec ion
agains he acidosis p oduced du ing anae obic in e al
swimming. Ou esul s appea o suppo he wo k o
Hobson e al. [20] ha sugges ed ha bene i s o BA sup-
plemen a ion may be dependen upon high in ensi y exe -
cise du a ions las ing mo e han 60 s. Howe e , i was a
bi su p ising ha when SB and BA we e combined he
bene i obse ed wi h SB only was nega ed. This is di i-
cul o explain bu , al hough specula i e, i may be ela ed
o muscle ca nosine concen a ions. Al hough se e al s u-
dies ha e sugges ed ha ained anae obic a hle es ha e
highe muscle ca nosine concen a ions [35-37], he abi-
li y o enhance muscle ca nosine concen a ion om
aining only has no been es ablished. The e o e, he
e ec o supplemen ing o some indi iduals may be small.
Figu e 5 Blood bica bona e and base excess alues (mean ± SD) in he supplemen ed g oups in di e en measu emen ime poin s.
A) Blood bica bona e (B-Bica bona e) and B) base excess (B-Base excess) alues (mean ± SD) in he supplemen ed g oups in di e en
measu emen ime poin s, PL = placebo, SB = sodium bica bona e, BA + PL = be a-alanine and placebo, BA + SB = be a-alanine and sodium
bica bona e, p e 1 = 60 min be o e swimming, p e 2 = 2 min be o e swimming he i s 100 m, I and III 2 min a e bo h 100 m swimming, II and
IV 8 min a e bo h 100 m swimming, * Indica es a signi ican (p < 0.05) di e ence compa ed o PL.
Me o e al. Jou nal o he In e na ional Socie y o Spo s Nu i ion 2013, 10:52 Page 7 o 9
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I is possible ha he e ec o lowe ing in acellula acidi y
in his ype o exe cise is no he only ac o o muscle
a igue [38]. The o he possible ac o s o muscle a igue
may be phosphoc ea ine s o es, maximal oxygen up ake
and some neu al ac o s.
Blood lac a e
The e we e no signi ican di e ences in blood lac a e con-
cen a ions be ween he ea men g oups, al hough i
seems o be highe wi h SB and SB + BA supplemen a ion
indica ing inc eased bu e ing ac i i y in muscle. The in-
c ease in peak blood lac a e (change be ween PL and he
SB g oups) was abou 1 mmol·l
-1
. This change was smalle
han epo ed by Ibanez e al. [39] who demons a ed a
di e ence in peak blood lac a e be ween ea men s o
2mmol·l
-1
o mo e is needed o obse e a s ong and sig-
ni ican imp o emen in pe o mance ollowing SB sup-
plemen a ion. Du ing in ensi e anae obic wo k [40,41], i
has been shown ha lac a e p oduced in as - wi ch
muscle ibe s can ci cula e o o he as - wi ch o slow-
wi ch ibe s o con e sion o py u a e. Py u a e, in u n,
con e s o ace yl-CoA o en y in o he ci ic acid cycle
o ae obic ene gy me abolism. Lac a e shu ling be ween
cells enables glycogenolysis in one cell o supply o he
cells wi h uel o oxida ion [42]. Swimme s gene ally
u ilize bo h ae obic and combined ae obic-anae obic
aining, and his may enhance he capaci y o he lac a e
shu ling. In he p esen s udy, he e ec o his lac a e
shu ling on peak blood lac a e alues emains an open
ques ion. Howe e , he pe o mance in he second 100 m
swim ollowing SB supplemen a ion imp o ed compa ed
o PL, bu co-supplemen a ion wi h SB and BA did no
con e any u he signi ican bene i .
Blood bica bona e, base excess, sodium and po assium
Blood analyses con i med ha SB and SB wi h BA we e
success ul in inc easing blood bica bona e concen a ion
and base excess consis en wi h p e ious s udies o SB
inges ion [43]. Bo h SB and SB wi h BA supplemen-
a ions inc eased blood sodium as expec ed bu blood
po assium dec eased. Ea lie Sos a ic e al. [30] epo ed
ha SB supplemen a ion lowe ed ci cula ing po assium
and enhanced muscle po assium up ake, sodium deli e y
and chlo ide up ake wi h alkalosis. These physiological
changes a e all consis en wi h p ese a ion o mem-
b ane exci abili y du ing exe cise [30]. This sugges s ha
lesse exe cise-induced memb ane depola iza ion may
be an impo an mechanism unde lying enhanced exe -
cise pe o mance wi h alkalosis. Thus alkalosis is asso-
cia ed wi h imp o ed egula ion o po assium, sodium,
chlo ide and lac a e. On he o he hand, inges ion o BA
signi ican ly dec eased blood sodium 8 min a e he
second swim compa ed wi h placebo, and ended o
dec ease a he o he measu emen poin s. Whe eas
po assium le els we e e y simila compa ed o placebo
ea men . Consequen ly, inges ion o BA may a ec
memb ane exci abili y di e en ly du ing exe cise com-
pa ed wi h SB inges ion.
Conclusions
The esul s o his s udy indica e ha he e was a signi i-
can imp o emen in swimming ime du ing he second
100 m swim ial ollowing acu e SB supplemen a ion
compa ed o PL, bu he addi ion o ch onic BA o acu e
SB did no p o ide any addi ional e gogenic bene i . Re-
sul s indica e he e icacy o SB supplemen a ion when
pe o ming maximal in e al swimming las ing unde
60 s bu do no suppo any addi ional bene i o SB
combined wi h BA.
Compe ing in e es s
The au ho s decla e ha hey ha e no compe ing in e es s.
Au ho s’con ibu ions
AAM (co esponding au ho ) was esponsible o he s udy design, he
execu ion o he measu emen s, he s a is ical analysis and he w i ing o he
manusc ip . PH and JS pa icipa ed in he s udy design, execu ion o he
measu emen s, he s a is ical analysis and he w i ing o he manusc ip . JRH
and JRS pa icipa ed in he s udy design and in he w i ing o he
manusc ip . All au ho s ead and app o ed he inal manusc ip .
Acknowledgemen s
The au ho s would like o hank M . Ris o Puu inen o ca ying ou all he
blood sampling and analysis.
Funding
This s udy p ojec was unded by Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, Depa men o
Biology o Physical Ac i i y.
Au ho de ails
1
Depa men o Biology o Physical Ac i i y, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, P.O. Box 35,
Jy äskylä 40351, Finland.
2
Spo and Exe cise Science, Uni e si y o Cen al
Flo ida, O lando, Flo ida, USA.
Recei ed: 29 May 2013 Accep ed: 30 Oc obe 2013
Published: 11 No embe 2013
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