title: Chronic lactate supplementation does not improve blood buffering capacity and repeated high-intensity exercise.
abstract: Since there is conflicting data on the buffering and ergogenic properties of calcium lactate (CL), we investigated the effect of chronic CL supplementation on blood pH, bicarbonate, and high-intensity intermittent exercise performance. Sodium bicarbonate (SB) was used as a positive control. Eighteen athletes participated in this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover, fully counterbalanced study. All participants underwent three different treatments: placebo (PL), CL, and SB. The dose was identical in all conditions: 500 mg/kg BM divided into four daily individual doses of 125 mg/kg BM, for five consecutive days, followed by a 2-7-day washout period. On the fifth day of supplementation, individuals undertook four 30-s Wingate bouts for upper body with 3-min recovery between bouts. Total mechanical work (TMW) for the overall protocol and for the initial (1st+2nd) and final (3rd+4th) bouts was determined at each session. Blood pH, bicarbonate, and lactate levels were determined at rest, immediately and 5 min after exercise. CL supplementation did not affect performance (P > 0.05 for the overall TMW as well for initial and final bouts), nor did it affect blood bicarbonate and pH prior to exercise. SB supplementation improved performance by 2.9% for overall TMW (P = 0.02) and 5.9% in the 3rd+4th bouts (P = 0001). Compared to the control session, SB also promoted higher increases in blood bicarbonate than CL and PL (+0.03 ± 0.04 vs +0.009 ± 0.02 and +0.01 ± 0.03, respectively). CL supplementation was not capable of enhancing high-intensity intermittent performance or changing extracellular buffering capacity challenging the notion that this dietary supplement is an effective buffering agent.
authors.affiliation: Applied Physiology & Nutrition Research Group, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Applied Physiology & Nutrition Research Group, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: de Salles Painelli
authors.affiliation: Applied Physiology & Nutrition Research Group, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nemezio
authors.affiliation: Applied Physiology & Nutrition Research Group, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.affiliation: Applied Physiology & Nutrition Research Group, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.affiliation: Applied Physiology & Nutrition Research Group, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Saunders
authors.affiliation: Applied Physiology & Nutrition Research Group, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gualano
authors.affiliation: Applied Physiology & Nutrition Research Group, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Artioli
mesh_terms: D000136:Acid-Base Equilibrium; D000138:Acidosis; D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes; D054874:Athletic Performance; D017610:Calcium Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D015444:Exercise; D005080:Exercise Test; D000072696:High-Intensity Interval Training; D006801:Humans; D007773:Lactates / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D058573:Performance-Enhancing Substances / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D017693:Sodium Bicarbonate / Q000008:administration & dosage; D064133:Sports Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D017610:Calcium Compounds; D007773:Lactates; D058573:Performance-Enhancing Substances; C110051:calcium lactate; D019344:Lactic Acid; D017693:Sodium Bicarbonate
keywords: Buffering capacity; chronic supplementation; intermittent exercise; lactate; sodium bicarbonate; upper body Wingate