Effect of Short-term Arginine Supplementation on Vasodilation and Performance in Intermittent Exercise in Judo Athletes

Arginine supplementation has been shown to induce endothelium-dependent vasodilation and enhance exercise performance via increasing nitric oxide (NO) production in patients with various cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of short-term arginine supplementation on vasodilation and performance in intermittent anaerobic exercise in well-trained male athletes. Ten elite male college judo athletes completed 2 trials in a randomized crossover and placebo-controlled design. All subjects received 6 g/day arginine (ARG trial) or placebo (CON trial) for 3 days before undertaking an intermittent anaerobic cycling test. In each exercise test, the subjects alternated 20-sec all-out exercise and 15-sec rest periods for 13 sets on a cycle ergometer. Vasodilation was measured using photoplethysmography in pre-supplementation, pre-exercise, and 0, 3, 6, 10, 30, and 60 min of post-exercise. The 2 trials had similar vascular reflection index and heart rate before the exercise test. Immediately after exercise reflection index of both trials was significantly reduced, then it showed a trend of decrease at 6 and 10 min after exercise (p<0.1). However, no significant difference in refection index and heart rate was found at any the same time point between the trials. There was no significant difference in power drop of each set and the decrements of peak and average power between the trials. This study suggested that the short-term arginine supplementation had no effect on exercise-induced vasodilation and performance in intermittent anaerobic tests in well-trained male judo athletes.