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Improved training tolerance by supplementation with α-Keto acids in untrained young adults: a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial

Liu Y, Lange R, Langanky J, Hamma T, Yang B, Steinacker JM
Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2012 9(1):37

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 22857787
PubMed Central
PMC3467174
DOI
10.1186/1550-2783-9-37
Funding
Supplement materials were donated by Evonik Rexim SAS; full funding details are reported in the article.
Competing interests
The article should be read with the material-supply relationship in mind; no evidence was found that this was a Ca-AKG longevity-product trial.

Study snapshot

DesignRandomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled training study.
ModelUntrained young adult men.
Sample33 total: AKG n=9, branched-chain keto acids n=12, placebo n=12.
Intervention0.2 g/kg/day AKG mixture containing sodium-AKG and calcium-AKG during training and recovery.
Duration4 weeks of training plus 1 week of recovery.
EndpointsTraining volume; Maximum power output; Peak muscle torque; Stress-recovery state; Exercise tolerance

What the study showed, in plain terms

This small randomized human trial is more relevant to AKG exercise claims than AAKG studies because the active arm used AKG salts rather than arginine-AKG.

Nine men received 0.2 g/kg/day AKG during four weeks of supervised training and one week of recovery. Training volume, maximum power and muscle torque were higher than placebo at the reported time points.

The formulation combined sodium- and calcium-AKG and the sample was very small, so it does not establish that a typical Ca-AKG longevity dose improves performance.

Key findings

  • The AKG group tolerated a greater training volume in week four than placebo.
  • Maximum power output and peak muscle torque were higher in the AKG group than placebo in the reported analyses.
  • Stress and emotional-exhaustion scores worsened in controls but not in the keto-acid groups.

What this study can and cannot tell us

  • Only nine participants received AKG.
  • The AKG formulation combined sodium and calcium salts and used a high body-weight-based dose.
  • Short training study in young men; no aging, sarcopenia or longevity endpoints.

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Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology