Ergogenic effect of pre-exercise chicken broth ingestion on a high-intensity cycling time-trial

Abstract

Background chicken meat extract is a popular functional food in Asia. It is rich in the bioactive compounds carnosine and anserine, two histidine-containing dipeptides (HCD). Studies suggest that acute pre-exercise ingestion of chicken extracts has important applications towards exercise performance and fatigue control, but the evidence is equivocal. This study aimed to evaluate the ergogenic potential of the pre-exercise ingestion of a homemade chicken broth (CB) vs a placebo soup on a short-lasting, high-intensity cycling exercise. Methods fourteen men participated in this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover intervention study. Subjects ingested either CB, thereby receiving 46.4 mg/kg body weight of HCD, or a placebo soup (similar in taste without HCD) 40 min before an 8 min cycling time trial (TT) was performed. Venous blood samples were collected at arrival (fasted), before exercise and at 5 min recovery. Plasma HCD were measured with UPLC-MS/MS and glutathione (in red blood cells) was measured through HPLC. Capillary blood samples were collected at different timepoints before and after exercise. Results a significant improvement (p = 0.033; 5.2%) of the 8 min TT mean power was observed after CB supplementation compared to placebo. Post-exercise plasma carnosine (p < 0.05) and anserine (p < 0.001) was significantly increased after CB supplementation and not following placebo. No significant effect of CB supplementation was observed either on blood glutathione levels, nor on capillary blood analysis. Conclusions oral CB supplementation improved the 8 min TT performance albeit it did not affect the acid-base balance or oxidative status parameters. Further research should unravel the potential role and mechanisms of HCD, present in CB, in this ergogenic approach.

No Effect of Acute Balenine Supplementation on Maximal and Submaximal Exercise Performance in Recreational Cyclists

“…Therefore, the current study investigates the effects of acute preexercise balenine supplementation on different performance types of maximal and submaximal intensity in humans. In line with previous research into acute carnosine and anserine supplementation (Barbaresi et al, 2021;Blancquaert et al, 2021;de Jager et al, 2022), we expect an improvement in maximal performance such as cycling sprints, maximal voluntary contractions and a short, high-intensity time trial. Moreover, as the mechanism responsible for the observed effects with acute carnosine and anserine supplementation remains unclear, an exploration of potential effects on a long-lasting high-intensity performance is conducted.…”

“…Carnosine, but not balenine supplementation may improve glucose handling by acrolein quenching. This could explain the observed ergogenic effect with carnosine and anserine supplementation in the repeated sprints (Blancquaert et al, 2021;de Jager et al, 2022) and 8-min TT (Barbaresi et al, 2021) but not with balenine. This, however, is speculative at present.…”

“…Note repeated short cycling sprints, 30-s Wingate tests, maximal isometric contractions, and in a 8-min cycling TT (Barbaresi et al, 2021;Blancquaert et al, 2021;de Jager et al, 2022;Suzuki et al, 2004). Should the functionality of balenine resemble that of carnosine and anserine, an improved peak power, peak torque, and 4 km time trial (which closely resembles the 8-min TT) would be expected and be even more pronounced because of the better bioavailability of balenine (de Jager et al, unpublished).…”

“…Furthermore, the Severin's phenomenon was also demonstrated with anserine (Petukhov et al, 1976). Acute carnosine and anserine supplementation, either in pure form or as chicken broth, was shown to induce a 3%-6% improvement in maximal performances such as 6 s cycling sprints and maximal isometric contractions (Barbaresi et al, 2021;Blancquaert et al, 2021;de Jager et al, 2022;Suzuki et al, 2004). A recent study by de Jager et al (2022) showed that the ergogenic benefit is related to CN1 activity and HCD plasma concentration, which indicates that the higher the plasma HCD concentration, the more the short-lasting, maximal performance is improved.…”

Prolonged 20 h heating of chicken meat in water at 75°C softens the meat, increases the levels of endogenous and degraded metabolites in the stock, but depletes reduced glutathione and glutamine

“…Chicken is consumed worldwide as a delicious source of nutrition. Chicken extract was reported to improve physical performance 1 , fatigue 2,3 , cognitive function [4][5][6] , and behavioral adaptability under stress 7 .…”