Alginate and HM-pectin in sports-drink give rise to intra-gastric gelation in vivo

Abstract

A polysaccharide drink containing 14% maltodextrin/fructose shows in vivo gelling behaviour as evidenced by magnetic resonance imaging.

Carbohydrate Hydrogel Products Do Not Improve Performance or Gastrointestinal Distress During Moderate-Intensity Endurance Exercise

“…CHO hydrogel products have attempted to improve on existing nutrition recommendations (use of CHO with multiple transporters [Jeukendrup, 2010] and gut training [Jeukendrup, 2017]) to target the need for highperformance athletes to achieve high CHO availability during prolonged events conducted at high relative and absolute intensities (Burke et al, 2019). Although there is evidence that these products achieve gelation within the acidic stomach environment as claimed (Marciani et al, 2019;McCubbin et al, 2019), subsequent effects on gastric emptying, intestinal absorption, and delivery to the muscle during exercise remain largely untested. Our review summarized the available literature on the use of these products during prolonged exercise in terms of GI comfort, substrate utilization, and performance.…”

“…and alginate (a polymer derived from seaweed) undergo gelation on contact with low pH solutions, such as stomach acid, to encapsulate the CHO (Marciani et al, 2019). Enhanced rates of gastric emptying could deliver this "hydrogel" to the small intestine where it dissolves in the higher pH environment for absorption, leading to reduced gut discomfort, enhanced muscle CHO delivery, and performance benefits (Figure 1).…”

The Impact of Sodium Alginate Hydrogel on Exogenous Glucose Oxidation Rate and Gastrointestinal Comfort in Well-Trained Runners

“…A recent review highlighted the lack of evidence for benefits from the use of sodium alginate and pectin added to a CHO beverage on physiological or GID symptoms during moderate intensity exercise ( 36 ). Current, mechanism-driven research has shown that a hydrogel can form around a CHO ( 37 ), which occurs in vivo ( 18 ) and subsequently enhances GE ( 19 ). Following this, however, there have been several studies which showed no differences from “standard” CHO beverages when comparing various physiological markers (e.g., ExCHO, whole-body oxidation rates and blood metabolites) and subjective markers (e.g., RPE and GID symptoms) [as reviewed elsewhere ( 36 )].…”

“…Since the first study discussing the potential benefits of adding sodium alginate and pectin to a CHO beverage (17), there has been a growing interest in exploring and quantifying any ergogenic or ergolytic effects (18,(20)(21)(22)(23)(24). Recently, a study by McCubbin et al investigated the effects of sodium alginate and pectin when ingesting 1.5 g .…”

“…Recently, it has been suggested that the addition of sodium alginate and pectin to a CHO beverage will allow a greater concentration of CHO to be ingested without GID ( 17 ). It is known that upon contact with the low pH of the gastric fluid, the sodium alginate and pectin will form a pH-sensitive hydrogel which will encapsulate the CHO within the beverage ( 18 ). Recent data from our group demonstrate that the addition of a sodium alginate hydrogel enhances the initial gastric emptying (GE) rate of a concentrated CHO beverage at rest, suggesting some impact on intestinal receptors that regulate GE ( 19 ).…”