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N-Acetyl cysteine does not improve repeated intense endurance cycling performance of well-trained cyclists

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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the effect of antioxidant supplementation on intense endurance exercise performance and the physiologic exercise response acutely and in early recovery.

Methods

Well-trained cyclists (n = 11, peak VO2: 69 ± 7 ml/min/kg) completed two identical standardized 20-min warm-up periods (WU-1 and WU-2) prior to two performance tests (PT) with a duration of ~ 4 min representing a qualifying (PT-1) and final race (PT-2) on the same day separated by 90 min. Subjects were supplemented orally with placebo (PLA) and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC; 20 mg/kg) before exercise in a double-blinded crossover design.

Results

Mean power during PT-1 did not differ (P = 0.39) between PLA (400 ± 44 W) and NAC (401 ± 44 W) as was the case during PT-2 with similar performance (P = 0.74) between PLA (401 ± 43 W) and NAC (400 ± 42 W). Subjective “readiness” was lowered by prior exhaustive exercise from PT-1 to PT-2 (P = 0.012) in both PLA and NAC. Plasma total antioxidant capacity was not affected by supplementation and prior exhaustive exercise (respective main effects: P = 0.83 and P = 0.19) which also was observed for peak VO2 at ~ 5 L/min (P = 0.84 and P = 0.30). In WU-1 and WU-2, both cycling economy at ~ 20% (P = 0.10 and P = 0.21) and plasma potassium at ~ 5 mmol/L (P = 0.46 and P = 0.26) were unaffected by supplementation and prior exercise.

Conclusions

Athletes executing maximal efforts of a ~ 4-min duration twice daily, as seen in track cycling, appear to gain no benefit from oral NAC supplementation on acute and subsequent performance following short-term recovery. Moreover, well-trained cyclists exhibit rapid recovery from a single bout of intense endurance cycling.

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Abbreviations

°C:

Degrees celsius

GE:

Gross efficiency

iPPO:

Incremental-test peak power output

kg:

Kilogram

kJ:

Kilojoule

L:

Liters

m:

Meters

mg:

Milligram

min:

Minute

mmol:

Millimole

NAC:

N-Acetyl cysteine

PLA:

Placebo

P:O:

Phosphate/oxygen ratio

PT:

Performance test

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

s:

Second

TAC:

Total antioxidant capacity

VO2 :

Pulmonary oxygen uptake

WU:

Warm-up

W:

Watt

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Caecilie Christoffersen for her great contribution to the experiment and also Kasper Eiby, Lasse Gliemann and Thomas Gunnarsson for placement of venous catheters and Jens Jung Nielsen for plasma analysis. The study was supported by Team Danmark.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, August Krogh Institute, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 13, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark

    Peter M. Christensen & Jens Bangsbo

  2. Team Danmark (Danish Elite Sport Organisation), Brondby Stadion 20, 2605, Brondby, Denmark

    Peter M. Christensen

Authors
  1. Peter M. Christensen
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  2. Jens Bangsbo
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Correspondence to Jens Bangsbo.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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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.

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Communicated by Anni Vanhatalo.

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Christensen, P.M., Bangsbo, J. N-Acetyl cysteine does not improve repeated intense endurance cycling performance of well-trained cyclists. Eur J Appl Physiol 119, 1419–1429 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-019-04132-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-019-04132-7

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