Acute Citrulline Malate Supplementation Does Not Improve Anaerobic Capacity in Healthy Young Adults: A Pilot Study

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the potential ergogenic properties of citrulline malate (CM) during a 300-yard shuttle run. Methods:  Thirty-two recreationally active subjects (M=24; F=8) participated in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Participants completed baseline testing which consisted of two 300-yard shuttle runs for time. Immediately post-exercise blood lactate was taken via a finger stick. An average of the two trials (time in seconds and blood lactate in mmols/L) were recorded and used for analysis. One week later, participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups (control, placebo, 4 grams CM, or 8 grams of CM) and repeated the same exercise protocol. Data were analyzed using a two-way repeated measures analysis of variance. Results: No main effect for shuttle-run time (F=0.149; p=0.702) or shuttle run time by group interaction was observed (F=0.672; p=0.576). There was a main effect for blood lactate (F=17.079; p<0.001) with lactate accumulation during the pre-test (11.64±2.83 mmol/L) being significantly greater compared to the post-treatment lactate levels (9.65±1.94 mmol/L). There was no blood lactate by group interaction (F=0.867; p=0.47). Conclusions: These results indicated that acute CM supplementation did not   improve anaerobic performance in healthy, young adults.