Spirulina is a popular nutritional supplement. Spirulina is rich in essential amino acids and fatty acids and has also anti-oxydant properties (vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium). It is supposed to have performance-enhancing effects.
Therefore, in the present study was to examine the effect of spirulina supplementation on exercise performance and substrate metabolism.
Nine moderately trained males took part in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, counterbalanced crossover study. Each subject received either spirulina (6 g•d−1) or placebo for 4 weeks. During the test, before and after supplementation, each subject ran on a treadmill at an intensity corresponding to 70%-75% of their V•O2max for 2 h and then at 95% V•O2max to exhaustion.
Time to fatigue after the 2-h run was significantly longer after spirulina supplementation (2.05 ± 0.68 vs 2.70 ± 0.79 min). Ingestion of spirulina significantly decreased carbohydrate oxidation rate by 10.3% and increased fat oxidation rate by 10.9% during the 2-h run compared with the placebo trial. Spirulina supplementation induced a significant increase in exercise performance possibly through an increase in fat oxidation rate.
Good points for this study:
- diet was standardized during the 3 days before the tests.
- A 2-wk washout period was observed after the supplementation. After the washout period, the subjects came back for a third and fourth times, to ensure that the 2-wk washout period was adequate to have similar physiological and biochemical values before the two periods of supplementation.
Negative points :
- only 9 subjects were tested
Conclusion :
more research is needed to elucidate the reasons behind the enhanced performance and increased fat.
Kalafati M, Jamurtas AZ, Nikolaidis MG, Paschalis V, Theodorou AA, Sakellariou GK, Koutedakis Y, Kouretas D. Ergogenic and antioxidant effects of spirulina supplementation in humans. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010 Jan;42(1):142-51.
