No effect of intravenous Actovegin® on peak aerobic capacity.
There is much speculation that Actovegin® is ergogenic, but no scientific work has been published in this field. 8 participants [mean(± SD) age, height and mass of 24 (7) years, 1.76 (0.07) m and 80.1 (9.1) kg, respectively] completed 3 exhaustive arm crank ergometry tests. Following Baseline testing 2 further tests were performed 2 h following the injection of either 40 ml of Actovegin® or a saline Placebo. Peak power (Wpeak), peak physiological responses, concentrations of blood glucose and lactate, exercise efficiency (%), VO2 gain (ml·W-1), and the respiratory compensation point (RCP) were determined. Repeated measures ANOVA tests were used to analyse data with significance accepted at p≤0.05. Values of mean (±90% CI) bias were calculated to further explore quantitative differences between trials. Strong trends for variations in Wpeak (p=0.054) and RCP (p=0.054) were evident; likely meaningful effects existed between the Baseline and both injection trials, but only a trivial effect was noted between Placebo and Actovegin® (bias: Wpeak 0.8±3.2 and RCP; 2.5±4.7 W). Concentrations of blood lactate and glucose changed across time, but did not differ between the 3 trials. Our data suggests the Actovegin® is not ergogenic and did not influence functional capacity in the context of the exhaustive, upper-body test employed.
Cardiff University, Institute of Medical Engineering and Medical Physics, Cardiff, UK. paul@medwales.com
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D004300:Doping in Sports; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000187:drug effects*; D006418:Heme / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D005082:Physical Exertion / Q000187:drug effects*; D055815:Young Adult
D001786:Blood Glucose; D019344:Lactic Acid; D006418:Heme; C015646:Actovegin