Derave and colleagues [34] reported that 4 weeks of β-alanine supplementation (4.8 g∙day−1) was able to delay fatigue during repeated bouts of isokinetic exercise and Van Thienen and colleagues [36] noted improved 30-sec sprint performance following a 110-min time trial. Each of those studies demonstrated a delay in fatigue following an acute exhaustive exercise protocol. Kern and Robinson [35] reported enhanced anaerobic exercise
buy CHIR98014 performance following a prolonged period (8-weeks) of high-intensity training in athletes supplementing with β-alanine compared to a placebo. The present study provides additional support of the benefits associated with 4-weeks of β-alanine supplementation in delaying fatigue. Shooting performance has been shown to be sensitive to acute fatiguing activity [29, 32]. Gillingham and colleagues [32] demonstrated that caffeine intake before and following exhaustive exercise (2.5-hr loaded march and 1.0-hr sandbar wall construction) improve target detection, marksmanship and engagement speed during simulated combat. This present study is the first to demonstrate that the fatigue resistant effects afforded by β-alanine ingestion can also improve marksmanship and target engagement speed following fatiguing exercise. Considering that this study did not measure muscle or brain carnosine concentrations, it is unclear if this played any role in the improvements
observed or whether another mechanism associated with β-alanine ingestion may be responsible
for the improvement in target acquisition and marksmanship. Fatigue during sustained Selleck Luminespib and highly intense combat EGFR inhibitor review situations may jeopardize rapid judgment in differentiating friend from foe. The subjects in the present study were required to overcome a misfire in their weapon, and then following their shooting performance complete mathematical problems while seated. The participants in BA were able to perform their 10 shots (30.2 ± 5.8 sec) faster than PL (37.7 ± 13.9 sec), but this 24.8% difference between the groups was not statistically different (p = 0.161). However, when the time was calculated relative to the number of Parvulin shots on target, BA was significantly faster than PL. Whether this was related to an improved neurological benefit is not clear; however it is clear that β-alanine supplementation directly led to enhanced marksmanship and rate of target acquisition, suggestive of improved psychomotor performance. Furthermore, the misfire in the weapon was similar for all participants and similar in both Pre and Post assessment periods. It is possible that the familiarity with how to handle the misfire for both groups also contributed to the similar completion time for the 10 shots. There were several limitations with this study. Considering that no previous studies examined the role of β-alanine on cognitive function, the statistical power analysis used to determine subject size was based upon previous studies examining physical performance.