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The Effect of Very High Interval Training on the Carnosine Content and Buffering Capacity of V Lateralis from humans
Author(s) -
Harris Roger C.,
Edge Johann,
Kendrick Iain P.,
Bishop David,
Goodman Carmel,
Wise John A.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.6.a944
Subject(s) - chemistry , carnosine , food science , biochemistry
Carnosine (Carn) occurs in high concentrations in muscle where it contributes to H + buffering. While Carn is increased in chronically trained athletes, the effects of acute training are less clear. Carn (a β‐AlaHis dipeptide) can, however, be increased 60% or more by supplementation with β‐alanine (β‐Ala), which is the rate limiting substrate for Carn synthesis. PURPOSE To investigate the effects of interval training on muscle Carn and buffer capacity. METHODS A single muscle biopsy of the V Lateralis was obtained from each of 12 recreationally active females before and after 5 wks of intense interval training (performed 3 d·wk −1 @ 140–170% lactate threshold) with either 1 (HIT‐1) or 3 (HIT‐3) min intervals. RESULTS Both groups showed significant ( p < 0.05) increases, with training, in VO 2 max (9–10%) and LT (8–15%). Muscle Carn, taurine and major Pi pools (ATP and PCr) were unchanged with training in either group although muscle buffering capacity showed an apparent 13% decrease with HIT‐1 and 6% increase with HIT‐3. CONCLUSIONS The absence of any training effect on muscle Carn levels agrees with other recent studies, using different training modalities. This lack of change confirms the primacy of β‐Ala availability for Carn synthesis. In the absence of changes in both Carn and the major Pi pools, there is no obvious explanation for the variable effects of training on muscle buffering between HIT‐1 and HIT‐3.