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Acute l-arginine supplementation has no effect on cardiovascular or thermoregulatory responses to rest, exercise, and recovery in the heat

  • Original Article
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European Journal of Applied Physiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the effect of acute l-arginine (L-ARG) supplementation on cardiovascular and thermoregulatory responses to rest, exercise, and recovery in the heat.

Methods

Eight healthy men (age 27 ± 6 years; stature 176 ± 6 cm; body mass 76 ± 4 kg; maximal power output 237 ± 39 W) participated in a double-blind, crossover study, attending the laboratory for two experimental trials. On each occasion, participants consumed 500 ml of a blackcurrant-flavoured cordial beverage 30 min before completing a 90 min experiment in the heat (35 °C and 50 % rh). The experiment consisted of 30 min of seated rest, followed by 30 min submaximal cycling (60 % maximal power output) and 30 min passive seated recovery. On one visit the drink contained 10 g of dissolved L-ARG while on the other visit it did not.

Results

L-ARG supplementation increased plasma L-ARG concentrations (peak +223 ± 80 % after 60 min of the 90 min experiment); however, supplementation had no effect on rectal temperature, mean skin temperature, heart rate, arterial pressure, forearm skin vascular conductance, oxygen consumption or sweat loss at rest, during exercise, or during recovery in the heat (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

Acute ingestion of 10 g L-ARG supplementation failed to elicit any changes in the cardiovascular or thermoregulatory responses to active or passive heat exposure in young, healthy males.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

CVC:

Cutaneous vascular conductance

CVCmax :

Maximal cutaneous vascular conductance

DAP:

Diastolic arterial pressure

eNOS:

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase

HR:

Heart rate

l-ARG:

l-arginine

MAP:

Mean arterial pressure

nNOS:

Neuronal nitric oxide synthase

NO:

Nitric oxide

NO2 :

Nitrite

NOS:

Nitric oxide synthase

PLA:

Placebo trial

rh:

Relative humidity

SAP:

Systolic arterial pressure

T rectal :

Rectal temperature

T skin :

Mean-weighted skin temperature

VO2 :

Oxygen consumption

W max :

Maximal power output

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the participants for their time and effort, Tom Reeve (University of Roehampton, UK) for his technical support and assistance, and Nottingham Trent University for the loan of equipment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London, SW15 4JD, England, UK

    Christopher J. Tyler & Thomas R. M. Coffey

  2. Department of Kinesiology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

    Gary J. Hodges

Authors
  1. Christopher J. Tyler
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  2. Thomas R. M. Coffey
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  3. Gary J. Hodges
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Correspondence to Christopher J. Tyler.

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No conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are declared by the authors.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Additional information

Communicated by Narihiko Kondo.

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Tyler, C.J., Coffey, T.R.M. & Hodges, G.J. Acute l-arginine supplementation has no effect on cardiovascular or thermoregulatory responses to rest, exercise, and recovery in the heat. Eur J Appl Physiol 116, 363–371 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3295-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3295-5

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