title: The effects of ingestion of sugarcane juice and commercial sports drinks on cycling performance of athletes in comparison to plain water.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sugarcane juice (ScJ) is a natural drink popular in most tropical Asian regions. However, research on its effect in enhancing sports performance is limited. The present investigation was to study the effect of sugarcane juice on exercise metabolism and sport performance of athletes in comparison to a commercially available sports drinks.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen male athletes (18-25 yrs) were asked to cycle until volitional exhaustion at 70% VO2 max on three different trials viz. plain water (PW), sports drink (SpD) and ScJ. In each trial 3ml/kg/BW of 6 % of carbohydrate (CHO) fluid was given at every 20 min interval of exercise and a blood sample was taken to measure the hematological parameters. During recovery 200 ml of 9% CHO fluid was given and blood sample was drawn at 5, 10, 15 min of recovery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ingestion of sugarcane juice showed significant increase (P<0.05) in blood glucose levels during and after exercise compared to SpD and PW. However, no significant difference was found between PW, SpD and ScJ for total exercise time, heart rate, blood lactate and plasma volume.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ScJ may be equally effective as SpD and PW during exercise in a comfortable environment (<30°C) and a more effective rehydration drink than SpD and PW in post exercise as it enhances muscle glycogen resynthesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Home Science, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, India.
authors.forename: Kommi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kalpana
authors.affiliation: Department of Foods and Nutrition, Lady Irwin College, Delhi University, India.
authors.forename: Priti Rishi
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Lal
authors.affiliation: Department of Home Science, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, India.
authors.forename: Doddipalli Lakshmi
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Kusuma
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Sciences, Manav Rachana International University, Faridabad, India.
authors.forename: Gulshan Lal
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Khanna
keywords: Exercise Performance; Fluids; Natural Drink; Sugarcane Juice