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Effect of BCAA supplementation on central fatigue, energy metabolism substrate and muscle damage to the exercise: a systematic review with meta-analysis

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Abstract

Background and aims: Current state of evidence recommends beneficial effects of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) on exercise performance; however, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of BCAA supplementation yield discordant results. The objective of this study was to clarify the effects of BCAA supplementation in exercise through meta-analysis of all relevant RCTs.

Methods: A comprehensive search of PubMed, Embase, ISI web of science, and the Cochrane library has been conducted from inception to September 2016. This meta-analysis includes 31 primary trials of the effect of BCAA supplementation on central fatigue, fatigue substances (lactate and ammonia), energy metabolites (glucose and free fatty acids) and, muscle damage substances (LDH and CK). The estimates were either obtained from a fixed-effects model or a random-effects model. The studies’ heterogeneity was calculated by Cochrane’s test and I2 index.

Results: BCAA had no effect on central fatigue (SMD − 0.31, 95% CI − 0.72 to 0.09; p = 0.1; heterogeneity I2 = 0%, p = 0.9). However, a significant reduction was detected in the lactate levels (WMD − 0.16, 95% CI − 0.26 to − 0.53; p = 0.003; heterogeneity I2 = 47.9%, p = 0.023). Moreover, BCAA supplementation had beneficial effects on ammonia, glucose, FFA, and CK, but had no effects on LDH.

Conclusion: BCAA supplementation did not have any effect on the feeling of fatigue; however, it led to a favorable effect on fatigue substances, energy metabolites and muscle soreness substances. Therefore, it can be concluded that the ingestion of the BCAA can play a helpful role in the enhancement of the exercise performance.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to all the researchers whom we cited in this review for their significant and valuable research.

Funding

This work was financially supported by a grant (97s32) from Vice-Chancellor for Research Affairs of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences.

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  1. Razie Hormoznejad, Ahmad Zare Javid and Anahita Mansoori contributed equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

    Razie Hormoznejad, Ahmad Zare Javid & Anahita Mansoori

  2. Student Research Committee, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

    Razie Hormoznejad

  3. Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, P.O.BOX, 61357-15794, Ahvaz, Khuzestan, Iran

    Ahmad Zare Javid & Anahita Mansoori

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Hormoznejad, R., Zare Javid, A. & Mansoori, A. Effect of BCAA supplementation on central fatigue, energy metabolism substrate and muscle damage to the exercise: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Sport Sci Health 15, 265–279 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-019-00542-4

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