The Effect of Citrulline Malate Supplementation On Muscle Fatigue Among Healthy Participants.

The focus of the investigation was to examine the effects of citrulline malate on muscular fatigue in healthy, recreationally trained participants. Twelve participants (males = 6; females = 6) (24.1 ± 3.9 yrs) visited the lab on three separate days all separated by one week. Each visit consisted of consuming one of three treatments: placebo (PLA), citrulline malate (8 g) (CM), and control (CON) in which no drink mixture was consumed. For each day of testing, participants consumed assigned treatment and performed one high-intensity exercise trial consisting of squats, lunge jumps, squat jumps, and lateral jumps. Participants performed the exercises in the listed order, which was designated as one round. Each participant performed 3 rounds, with the work to rest ratio being 20 sec work, 30 sec rest. A one min rest was given between rounds. A pre/post-exercise isokinetic leg extension test was performed to measure for peak power, peak torque, and rate of fatigue. Additionally, blood lactate was obtained pre/post-exercise. There were no treatment or interaction effects (p > 0.05) for peak torque, peak power, rate of fatigue, or blood lactate accumulation. However, there was a statistical significant decrease from pre/post-ex for peak torque (p = 0.003), peak power (p = 0.003), and rate of fatigue (p = 0.001). Additionally, lactate accumulation did increase significantly from pre/post-ex (p = 0.0001). Lastly, neither total work nor final heart rate was statistical significant between the treatments (p > 0.05). Citrulline malate was not effective in improving performance or alleviating fatigue following a high-intensity exercise session.