The ergogenic activity of cider vinegar: A randomized cross-over, double-blind, clinical trial

Abstract

This randomized, double-blind, clinical trial was designed to compare the endurance capacity (ergogenic property) in healthy athletes after consumption of apple cider vinegar (ACV) and a commercial sports drink (CSD) before and during endurance exercise. Fourteen healthy participants were enrolled in this trial and were divided into two groups as ACV and CSD with seven participants in each. Participants were requested to consume 500 mL of either commercial ACV or CSD 1 h before endurance exercise (bicycle ergometer). Blood samples were collected at baseline, 0, 20, 40, 60 min until exhaustion to assess glucose, lactate, ammonia and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA). Respiratory exchange rate (RER) score was measured every 15 min and the heart rate (HR) was measured every 5 min. The outcome of the present trial clearly showed that no significant differences were observed between ACV and CSD except in the blood level of ammonia (only at exhaustion time). Thus, these results show that ACV and the CSD both possessing the ergogenic property, enhanced blood glucose, NEFA, and suppress the production of lactate as well as maintains normal RER score, and HR throughout the endurance exercise. Overall this trial showcases that ACV did not significantly improve the ergogenic activity over the CSD.

Keywords

Apple vinegar / Lactate / Ammonia / RER score / Endurance / Physical performance

References

[[1]] C.W. Chang, T.Z. Huang, W.H. Chang, Y.C. Tseng, Y.T. Wu, M.C. Hsu. Acute Garcinia mangostana (mangosteen) supplementation does not alleviate physical fatigue during exercise: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. Sports Nutr Rev J, 13 (1) ( 2016), p. 20, DOI: 10.1186/s12970-016-0132-0

[[2]] S. Nozaki, M. Tanaka, K. Mizuno, et al.. Mental and physical fatigue-related biochemical alterations. Nutrients, 25 (1) ( 2009), pp. 51-57, DOI: 10.1016/j.nut.2008.07.010

[[3]] K. Martin, R. Meeusen, K.G. Thompson, R. Keegan, B. Rattray. Mental fatigue impairs endurance performance: a physiological explanation. Sports Med, 48 (9) ( 2018), pp. 2041-2051, DOI: 10.1007/s40279-018-0946-9

[[4]] B. Pageaux, R. Lepers.Fatigue induced by physical and mental exertion increases perception of effort and impairs subsequent endurance performance. Front Physiol, 7 ( 2016), p. 587, DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2016.00587

[[5]] Y.S. Teng, D. Wu.Anti-fatigue effect of green tea polyphenols (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG). Phcog Mag, 13 (50) ( 2017), p. 326, DOI: 10.4103/0973-1296.204546

[[6]] T. Sugino, T. Shirai, Y. Kajimoto, O. Kajimoto. L-ornithine supplementation attenuates physical fatigue in healthy volunteers by modulating lipid and amino acid metabolism. Nutr Res, 28 (11) ( 2008), pp. 738-743, DOI: 10.1016/j.nutres.2008.08.008

[[7]] N. Goncharov, E. Maevsky, N. Voitenko, et al.. Nutraceuticals in Sports Activities and Fatigue. InNutraceuticals Academic Press ( 2016), pp. 177-188, DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-802147-7.00014-0

[[8]] C.W. Ho, A.M. Lazim, S. Fazry, U.K. Zaki, S.J. Lim. Varieties, production, composition and health benefits of vinegars: a review. Food Chem, 221 ( 2017), pp. 1621-1630, DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.10.128

[[9]] A. Samad, A. Azlan, A. Ismail. Therapeutic effects of vinegar: a review. Curr Opin Food Sci, 8 ( 2016), pp. 56-61, DOI: 10.1016/j.cofs.2016.03.001

[[10]] K. Nakamura, Y. Ogasawara, K. Endou, S. Fujimori, M. Koyama, H. Akano. Phenolic compounds responsible for the superoxide dismutase-like activity in high-Brix apple vinegar. J Agric Food Chem, 58 (18) ( 2010), pp. 10124-10132, DOI: 10.1021/jf100054n

[[11]] B.H. Halima, G. Sonia, K. Sarra, B.J. Houda, B.S. Fethi, A. Abdallah. Apple cider vinegar attenuates oxidative stress and reduces the risk of obesity in high-fat-fed male wistar rats. J Med Food, 21 (1) ( 2018), pp. 70-80, DOI: 10.1089/jmf.2017.0039

[[12]] P. Mitrou, E. Petsiou, E. Papakonstantinou, et al.. The role of acetic acid on glucose uptake and blood flow rates in the skeletal muscle in humans with impaired glucose tolerance. Eur J Clin Nutr, 69 (6) ( 2015), p. 734, DOI: 10.1038/ejcn.2014.289

[[13]] D. Atik, C. Atik, C. Karatepe. The effect of external apple vinegar application on varicosity symptoms, pain, and social appearance anxiety: a randomized controlled trial. Evid base Compl Alternative Med, 6473678 ( 2016), pp. 1-8, DOI: 10.1155/2016/6473678

[[14]] F. Shahidi, J. McDonald, A. Chandrasekara, Y. Zhong. Phytochemicals of foods, beverages and fruit vinegars: chemistry and health effects. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 17 ( 2008), pp. 1-8

[[15]] J. Morgan, S. Mosawy.The potential of apple cider vinegar in the management of type 2 diabetes. Int J Diabetes Res, 5 (6) ( 2016), pp. 129-134

[[16]] N.A. Omar, A.N. Allithy, F.M. Faleh, et al.. Apple cider vinegar (a prophetic medicine remedy) protects against nicotine hepatotoxicity: a histopathological and biochemical report. AJCP, 3 ( 2015), pp. 122-127

[[17]] F. Bifari, E. Nisoli. Branched-chain amino acids differently modulate catabolic and anabolic states in mammals: a pharmacological point of view. Br J Pharmacol, 174 (11) ( 2017), pp. 1366-1377, DOI: 10.1111/bph.13624

[[18]] D.H. Kim, S.H. Kim, W.S. Jeong, H.Y. Lee.Effect of BCAA intake during endurance exercises on fatigue substances, muscle damage substances, and energy metabolism substances. J Exerc Nutr Biochem, 17 (4) ( 2013), p. 169, DOI: 10.5717/jenb.2013.17.4.169

[[19]] R.B. Kreider, C.D. Wilborn, L. Taylor, et al.. ISSN exercise & sport nutrition review: research & recommendations. Sports Nutr Rev J, 7 (1) ( 2010), p. 7, DOI: 10.1186/1550-2783-7-7

[[20]] M.H. Rahimi, S. Shab-Bidar, M. Mollahosseini, K. Djafarian. Branched-chain amino acid supplementation and exercise-induced muscle damage in exercise recovery: a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Nutrients, 42 ( 2017), pp. 30-36, DOI: 10.1016/j.nut.2017.05.005

[[21]] K. Matsumoto, T. Koba, K. Hamada, M. Sakurai, T. Higuchi, H. Miyata. Branched-chain amino acid supplementation attenuates muscle soreness, muscle damage and inflammation during an intensive training program. J Sports Med Phys Fit, 49 ( 2009), pp. 424-431

[[22]] G. Borg, G. Ljunggren, R. Ceci. The increase of perceived exertion, aches and pain in the legs, heart rate and blood lactate during exercise on a bicycle ergometer. Eur J Appl Physiol, 54 (4) ( 1985), pp. 343-349, DOI: 10.1007/BF02337176

[[23]] D. Bagchi, S. Nair, C.K. Sen (Eds.), Nutrition and Enhanced Sports Performance: Muscle Building, Endurance, and Strength, Academic Press ( 2018), pp. 102-115

[[24]] A. Kantanista, K. Kusy, E. Zarębska, M. Włodarczyk, M. Ciekot-Sołtysiak, J. Zieliński. Blood ammonia and lactate responses to incremental exercise in highly-trained male sprinters and triathletes. Biomed Hum Kinet, 8 (1) ( 2016), pp. 32-38, DOI: 10.1515/bhk-2016-0005

[[25]] Q. Yang, W. Jin, X. Lv, et al.. Effects of macamides on endurance capacity and anti-fatigue property in prolonged swimming mice. Pharm Biol, 54 (5) ( 2016), pp. 827-834, DOI: 10.3109/13880209.2015.1087036

[[26]] U. Andersson-Hall, S. Pettersson, F. Edin, A. Pedersen, D. Malmodin, K. Madsen. Metabolism and whole-body fat oxidation following postexercise carbohydrate or protein intake. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metabol, 28 (1) ( 2018), pp. 37-45, DOI: 10.1123/ijsnem.2017-0129

[[27]] P. Brancaccio, N. Maffulli, F.M. Limongelli. Creatine kinase monitoring in sport medicine. Br Med Bull, 81 (1) ( 2007), pp. 209-230, DOI: 10.1093/bmb/ldm014

[[28]] G. Falavigna, J. Junior, M. Rogero, et al.. Effects of diets supplemented with branched-chain amino acids on the performance and fatigue mechanisms of rats submitted to prolonged physical exercise. Nutrients, 4 (11) ( 2012), pp. 1767-1780, DOI: 10.3390/nu4111767

[[29]] A. Coqueiro, R. Raizel, A. Bonvini, et al.. Effects of glutamine and alanine supplementation on central fatigue markers in rats submitted to resistance training. Nutrients, 10 (2) ( 2018), p. 119, DOI: 10.3390/nu10020119

[[30]] G. Van Hall. The physiological regulation of skeletal muscle fatty acid supply and oxidation during moderate-intensity exercise. Sports Med, 45 (1) ( 2015), pp. 23-32, DOI: 10.1007/s40279-015-0394-8

[[31]] Y. Shimomura, T. Murakami, N. Nakai, M. Nagasaki, R.A. Harris. Exercise promotes BCAA catabolism: effects of BCAA supplementation on skeletal muscle during exercise. J Nutr, 134 (6) ( 2004), DOI: 10.1093/jn/134.6.1583S. 1583S-7S

The author would like to thank Chung Shan Medical University for financially supporting this trial.