Effect of Branched-chain Amino Acid Supplementation on Muscle Damage

Not Applicable

• Conditions: Muscle Damage
• Interventions: Dietary Supplement: Placebo; Dietary Supplement: BCAA 200mg/kg/day; Dietary Supplement: BCAA 400mg/kg/day; Behavioral: Muscle damaging exercise

• Registration Number: NCT03766815
• Lead Sponsor: Western University, Canada

Brief Summary

Seventy-eight recreational athletes who never resistance trained will be randomly assigned into three groups of twenty-six. Branched-chain amino acid will be supplemented for 18days at 0, 200 or 400 mg/body weight(kg)/day in jelly. Participants will be asked to perform elbow flexions on the 12th day of supplementation. Maximum voluntary contractions will be measured before, during and after the supplementation period to compare the effects of different doses of branched-chain amino acid has on muscle damage markers.

Detailed Description

Previous studies have not been able to show consistent effects due to various reasons. The major limitations are the lack of enough data on the amount and duration of branched-chain amino acid supplementation, and the level of muscle damage for branched-chain amino acid to be effective. Based on a recent meta-analysis, it has been suggested that to be effective, branched-chain amino acid should be supplemented more than 200mg/kg/day before a low-to-moderate intensity exercise bout. Therefore, this study is designed based on the above suggestions and to compare the effect of different doses of branched-chain amino acid on muscle damage markers in healthy recreational active individuals.

Three treatment groups (n=26) will be randomly assigned to be supplemented with either 200mg BCAA/kg/day (BCAA200), 400mg BCAA/kg/day (BCAA400) or placebo (fiber supplement; PL). Supplements will be provided in jelly in a single blind fashion to be ingested 1hour after each of the three main daily meals for 18days. Anthropometric measurements (body weight, lean mass, height), body temperature, ultrasound (US), strength assessment (maximal voluntary contraction, MVC), resting metabolic rate (RMR), rate of perceived exertion (RPE), delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) and blood samples (duplicates; myoglobin; BCAA) will be collected before, during and after the supplementation period at different time points (see appendix for the above tables). Repeated-bout effect (RBE) on both arms will be measured 7 days after the damage inducing session.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2018-12-03
• Study First Submitted QC: 2018-12-05
• Study First Posted: 2018-12-06
• Status Verified: 2019-09
• Last Update Submitted: 2019-09-30
• Study Start: 2019-10-01
• Last Update Posted: 2019-10-02
• Primary Completion: 2019-12-31
• Study Completion: 2019-12-31

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: UNKNOWN
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 78

Inclusion Criteria

• Healthy males and females at the age of 18-40
• Endurance trained athletes
• Weekly exercise duration is less than 150minutes but more than 30 minutes

Exclusion Criteria

• Individuals who cannot endure three days for not eating meat
• Diabetic
• Have been performing resistance trainings
• Have been taking protein supplement
• Have been consuming a high level of protein in the regular diet
• Have been taking omega-three and vitamin E supplements
• Have been taking anabolic Steroids
• Have been taking regular medications
• Have cardiovascular Disease
• Have a history of joint & Muscle Injuries
• Females with irregular Menstrual Cycle

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Placebo	Placebo	Fiber supplement mixed with jelly will be ingested for 18 days with participants performing elbow eccentric contractions as a muscle damaging exercise on the 12th-day of supplementation.
Placebo	Muscle damaging exercise	Fiber supplement mixed with jelly will be ingested for 18 days with participants performing elbow eccentric contractions as a muscle damaging exercise on the 12th-day of supplementation.
BCAA 400mg/kg/day	Muscle damaging exercise	Branched-chain amino acid supplement mixed with jelly will be ingested for 18 days. The amount of supplement provided will be based on body weight (400mg/kg/day) with participants performing elbow eccentric contractions as a muscle damaging exercise on the 12th-day of supplementation.
BCAA 200mg/kg/day	BCAA 200mg/kg/day	Branched-chain amino acid supplement mixed with jelly will be ingested for 18 days. The amount of supplement provided will be based on body weight (200mg/kg/day) with participants performing elbow eccentric contractions as a muscle damaging exercise on the 12th-day of supplementation.
BCAA 200mg/kg/day	Muscle damaging exercise	Branched-chain amino acid supplement mixed with jelly will be ingested for 18 days. The amount of supplement provided will be based on body weight (200mg/kg/day) with participants performing elbow eccentric contractions as a muscle damaging exercise on the 12th-day of supplementation.
BCAA 400mg/kg/day	BCAA 400mg/kg/day	Branched-chain amino acid supplement mixed with jelly will be ingested for 18 days. The amount of supplement provided will be based on body weight (400mg/kg/day) with participants performing elbow eccentric contractions as a muscle damaging exercise on the 12th-day of supplementation.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in maximum voluntary contraction (MVC)	baseline (before supplementation) and at 1,3,24,48,72,96,120,144 hours after muscle damage	Participants will be asked to perform three repetitions of concentric elbow flexion at their maximal force (1RM) with both their dominant and non-dominant arm on an isokinetic dynamometer (Biodex).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in 3-methyl-histidine	10 min before muscle damaging exercise and at each of 1,3,24,48,72,96,120,144 hours after muscle damage	Ultra-performance liquidchromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) using an Acquity Ultra Performance LC system coupled to a Waters Quattro Premier XE mass spectrometer (bothWaters Corporation, Milford, MA, USA) and the Waters MassLynx Software (Version 4.1).
Change in limb girth	10 min before muscle damaging exercise and at each of 1,3,24,48,72,96,120,144 hours after muscle damage	Limb girth of the upper arm (between the lateral epicondyle of the humerus and the acromion process) and the lower arm (between the lateral epicondyle of the humerus and the styloid process of the radius) will be measured with an anthropometric tape when the arm is naturally hanging down.
Change in body temperature	20 min before muscle damaging exercise and at each of 1,3,24,48,72,96,120,144 hours after muscle damage	Body temperature will be measured with an ear thermometer
Change in muscle soreness	10 min before muscle damaging exercise and at each of 1,3,24,48,72,96,120,144 hours after muscle damage	Perceived muscle soreness will be determined by asking participants to stand in the anatomical position while flexing the shoulder of the exercised arm at 90degrees and fully extending the elbow. Participants will be asked to determine their forearm flexor muscles soreness with the use of a visual analogue scale (VAS) and rate from 1 being no pain and 10 being extremely painful.
Change in blood myoglobin	10 min before muscle damaging exercise and at each of 1,3,24,48,72,96,120,144 hours after muscle damage	Blood myoglobin will be measured with Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay.
Change in ultrasound images of the arm muscles	10 min before muscle damaging exercise and at each of 1,3,24,48,72,96,120,144 hours after muscle damage	Ultrasound measurements will be used to scan the triceps brachii and the forearm flexors. A permanent marker will be used to mark the elbow joint as the origin and both the belly of the triceps and the belly of the flexor digitorum profundus as the end point so as to compare the echoic difference in both the upper and lower arms.
Changes in insulin	10 min before muscle damaging exercise and at each of 1,3,24,48,72,96,120,144 hours after muscle damage	Blood insulin will be measured with a standard insulin radioimmunoassay kit.
Change in resting metabolic rate	20 min before muscle damaging exercise and at each of 1,3,24,48,72,96,120,144 hours after muscle damage	Resting metabolic rate will be measured with a metabolic cart
Change in range of motion	20 min before muscle damaging exercise and at each of 1,3,24,48,72,96,120,144 hours after muscle damage	Range of motion of the arm will be measured by asking the participant to stand in the anatomical position while fully flexing the shoulder of the exercised arm and then extending the elbow to an angle that they do not feel any pain in the arms. A goniometer will be used to measure the angles.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Exercise Nutrition Laboratory (Western University); 🇨🇦 London, Ontario, Canada