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Effects of L-Glutamine on Muscle Output Following Stair Climbing in Sedentary Women

Daisy Arroyo, Noelle Buencamino, Kim Docuyanan, Azalei Echano, Sarah Echano, Stephen
Higgins, Violetta Kofman, Melissa Miranda, Camille Moran, Amanda Perez

Kinesiology 326: Exercise Physiology

California State University San Marcos

Spring 2017

Abstract
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Background: L-glutamine is a nonessential amino acid generated in human muscle and plasma.

During times of stress, plasma glutamine levels abate. Ingesting glutamine supplements during

periods of intense exercise has been shown to enhance muscle growth, improve athletic

performance, and prevent excess fat deposition while increasing lean body mass.

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of L-glutamine supplementation on muscle strength as a nutritional

intervention measured by peak muscle torque following stair climbing protocol.

Methods: Six sedentary women (22 + 3 years of age) volunteered in this blind, randomized

study. Using their dominant leg, all completed a maximal knee flexion (KF) and extension (KE)

test on an isokinetic dynamometer for each of the three conditions: baseline, L-glutamine, and

placebo. Each completed two sets of five repetitions per condition with 30 seconds of recovery

between each set. Baseline tests were taken three days prior to a stair exercise protocol done until

fatigued. Subjects were randomly split into an L-glutamine and placebo group in which subjects

ingested their supplement for three consecutive days after the stair protocol, followed by a

Biodex test on the fifth day. After a week long wash-out period, subjects switched groups and

performed the same stair protocol and Biodex test. All completed a maximal knee flexion (KF)

and extension (KE) baseline test using their dominant leg. Subjects performed maximal KF and

KE at 30 deg/sec with a 30 second recovery period between 5 repetitions of 2 sets, with 2 days of

recovery post-test. Day 4, subjects climbed up and down stairs until fatigued, then ingested the

L-glutamine supplementation or placebo for the three consecutive days. Day 7, subjects

completed another maximal KF and KE. Subjects participated for 3 weeks: one week of testing,

one week of break period, and a last week for retesting.

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Results: Researchers found no significant difference (p=0.759, p=0.791) between

baseline/control, L-glutamine, and placebo treatments for peak torque during KF and KE,

respectively. There was also no significant difference between the L-glutamine and placebo

treatments for Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scores in response to the stair protocol.

Conclusion: There was no effect of L-glutamine on muscle output in sedentary women in

response to stair climbing.

Keywords: L-glutamine, isokinetic dynamometry, muscle strength, sedentary women, Rate of

Perceived Exertion

Introduction

Athletes use ergogenic aids to increase their athletic performance like L-glutamine, a

nonessential amino acid produced in human muscle and plasma. Research has shown that

glutamine is beneficial to the immune system, optimizes efficiency of metabolic pathways to

enhance muscle growth, and improves athletic performance, while preventing excess fat

deposition and increasing lean body mass (Wu, 2009). During times of stress, such as high

intensity exercise or having an injury, plasma glutamine levels abate, therefore ingesting

glutamine supplements may be beneficial (Rahmani et al., 2013). It is unclear how amino acid

supplementation reduces muscle damage post exercise, however studies suggest that

supplements increase amino acid availability, thus increasing protein synthesis while decreasing

protein breakdown and producing a positive net protein balance (Etheridge et al. 2008). Low et

al. (1996), demonstrated a direct link to intramuscular glutamine levels that influence muscle cell

volume, which can increase the contractile force of the muscle.

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Exercise-induced muscle damage is associated with impaired muscle function, delayed-

onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and increased levels of muscle proteins (Creatine Kinase) in the

blood (Street et al., 2011). Symptoms of muscle damage occur during eccentric muscle

contractions, such as downhill running and resistance training, however glutamine

supplementation may improve muscle function by reducing the local inflammatory response to

eccentric exercises (Paulsen et al. 2010; Raastad et al. 2003; MacIntyre et al. 1996). Street et al.

(2013), explained the results from ingesting L-glutamine showed greater preservation of peak

torque over a 72-hr postexercise measurement period at slower (30/sec) and faster (180/sec)

KE contraction speeds, and lower ratings of perceived muscle soreness (Legault et al. 2015).

Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of L-glutamine

supplementation on muscle strength as a nutritional intervention measured by peak muscle

torque during stair climbing protocol. Research has shown that daily glutamine supplementation

post-eccentric exercise would reduce muscle damage and attenuate the associated symptoms

(i.e., strength loss, soreness, and CK activity), thereby improving recovery from this form of

exercise. We hypothesize that L-glutamine will have a positive effect on muscle strength and

produce a higher peak torque compared to the placebo group.

Methods

Design

The study was conducted in the Kinesiology Human Performance Lab at California State

University San Marcos (CSUSM) (San Marcos, CA), and on the stairs at CSUSM by Cesar

Chavez Circle (San Marcos, CA) in which subjects were tested for 14 days. Researchers
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observed the effects from the L-glutamine and placebo condition during peak muscle torque,

followed by a stair protocol. Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scales were used to measure the

intensity of the activity.

Subjects

Six kinesiology female (21 3 years of age) CSUSM students (San Marcos, CA) volunteered as

participants. Subjects needed to be free of any musculoskeletal injuries. Prior to testing,

participants signed a consent form and personal health questionnaire to ensure if no prior

supplements within the past month were ingested, having a BMI greater than 35 kg/m2, and

physical activity less than 1 hour per week. Measurements taken were, height (2 0 cm), body

mass ( 62 14 kg), (BMI 25 3 ) and BP (128.5/66.7 5.96/8.16 mm Hg).

Equipment

A Monark Wingate Peak cycle ergometer (Monark, Vansbro, Sweden) was used during the

warm-up. An isokinetic dynamometer (Biodex Medical Systems, Shirley, NY) was used to

measure peak KF and KE torque (ft-lbs). The Biodex assisted in measuring torque movement

throughout a repetition of sets at a constant rate and position. An Ace Elastic Bandage was used

to secure the subjects ankle onto the Biodex. GNC Pro Performance Rapiddrive Glutamine 5000

(unflavored- item #351189) was the glutamine given and Crystal Light Raspberry Lemonade

(artificial flavor single packet) was the placebo which were mixed in 16oz of water and

randomized to ensure 3 subjects ingested the placebo and 3 ingested the L-glutamine

supplementation in one week. Subjects climbed up and down a flight of stairs, consisting of 80

steps, until fatigued for the stair protocol. Previous research has demonstrated that brief, intense
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stair climbing is a practical, and a time efficient strategy to use in untrained women (Allison, M.

K., et al., 2016). Therefore, stair climbing was a valid mode of exercise to implement in this

study.

Procedures

Day 1: Baseline Assessments

Subjects arrived at the Kinesiology Lab where they completed a consent form, a health

questionnaire, and had their measurements recorded. Prior to the trials, subjects warmed-up for 5

minutes on a cycle ergometer. Subjects then sat in an isokinetic dynamometer and were tested for

maximal KE and KF torque. Using their dominant leg, subjects performed 2 sets of 5 repetitions,

each at 30 degrees/second, with a 30 second recovery period between sets.

Day 2-3: Recovery Days

Subjects were given 2 rest days, were they continued their sedentary lifestyle.

Day 4: Stair Protocol

Subjects returned to CSUSM, were they brisk walked a flight of stairs from bottom to top and

repeated. Subjects were measured with RPE scale once they reached the top of the stairs and

indicated their max fatigue. After one hour of recovery, subjects drank their supplement.

Day 5-6: Supplement Intake

Subjects continued with their sedentary lifestyle and consumed their supplement.

Day 7: Assessment

Subjects repeated Day 1 (excluding health questionnaire, consent form, measurements). Days 2-7

were then repeated.

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Data Analysis

A One-way ANOVA with repeated measures was used to determine peak KE and KF. A two-way

ANOVA with repeated measures was used to assess RPE, with a significance level at <0.05.

Researchers only analyzed the first ten RPE scores to correspond to the minimum amount of

bouts it took subjects fatigue and reach an RPE score of ten.

Results

Effect of L-glutamine on Muscle Force

We hypothesized that L-glutamine would have a positive effect on muscle strength and

produce a higher peak torque compared to the placebo group. There was no statistical significant

difference between baseline, L-glutamine, and placebo treatments for KF (p=0.759) and KE

(p=0.791). Mean KF for placebo treatment (75.2710.78 ft-lbs) showed greater torque versus

baseline treatment (71.7214.54 ft-lbs) and L-glutamine treatment (73.8821.86 ft-lbs) (Figure

1). Mean KE for baseline treatment (124.3721.21 ft-lbs) displayed greater torque versus L-

glutamine treatment (123.3824.12 ft-lbs) and placebo treatment (121.7816.98 ft-lbs) (Figure

2).

Effect of L-glutamine on RPE score

Data showed no significant difference (p=0.157) between L-glutamine and placebo

treatments on RPE score in response to stair protocol (Figure 3). RPE score during the L-

glutamine condition (6.002.68 score) was greater than the placebo condition (4.832.79 score)

at the tenth bout. There was a linear relationship between RPE scores of both treatments and

exercise bouts (Figure 3).

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Figure 1: Average KF peak torques in response to 3 treatments (baseline, L-glutamine, and

placebo) on the Biodex.

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Figure 2: Average KE peak torques in response to 3 treatments (baseline, L-glutamine, and

placebo) on the Biodex.

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Figure 3: Average Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) score during L-glutamine and placebo

treatments for 10 bouts in response to stair protocol.

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of L-glutamine on muscle strength

measured by peak muscle torque following stair climbing protocol. The present study found no

significant difference in KE and KF between the glutamine and placebo group. There was no

significant difference for bouts 1-10 RPE glutamine vs RPE placebo. Based on the current study,

L-glutamine may not be very effective when decreasing muscle soreness or increasing muscle

torque in untrained sedentary college women.

L-glutamine promotes an anabolic state within the muscle which enhances protein

synthesis (MacLennan et. al., 1987; WU & Thompson, 1990). A similar study looked at the

effects of L-glutamine on muscle soreness after eccentric exercise in 15 active males (21 1.5

yrs), which demonstrated a greater preservation of peak torque over the 96 hour measurement

period (Street et al., 2011). The subjects in our study were not physically active and presented no

significant difference in peak torque between placebo and glutamine group. Street et al. (2011)

also indicated that glutamine supplementation did not affect the magnitude of muscle soreness,

but resulted in a more rapid dissipation (Street et al., 2011), however, this was not found in the

current study. L-glutamine may be utilized and effective in active individuals rather than

sedentary women.

Another study examined the effects of L-glutamine on muscle force recovery after 72

hours and found that all 16 subjects (8 female, 8 male; 22 4yrs) with L-glutamine intervention

resulted in greater peak torques at 30/sec and 180/sec postexercise which the subjects
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measured healthy participants, unlike our subjects who were sedentary and showed no significant

difference in KE or KF (Legault et al., 2015). The previous study stated that there may have been

a potential sex difference in response to L-glutamine supplementation where men were driving

response of the entire sample that maybe due to greater buffering of plasma ammonia and

endogenous production of glutamine by adipocytes (Legault et al., 2015). This observation

maybe a reason why the women in the present study did not respond to the supplementation.

A major limitation to the present study was that the sample size (N=6) was small thus,

making it difficult to find a significant relationship from the data to ensure a representative

distribution of the population. Furthermore, we only measured two variables: torque and RPE,

limiting the effects to only force production excluding all other possible effects of L-glutamine.

An invasive muscle biopsy would have been a more effective way at measuring L-glutamine

supply in the muscle. Another limitation was that velocity (30/sec) was measured once. A

slower velocity may be problematic since previous studies indicated an effectiveness of L-

glutamine at 180/sec vs. 30/sec (Legault et al., 2015; Street et al., 2011). The effectiveness

could signify that L-glutamine supplementation is better utilized at a higher velocity of

movement and further reason why there may have not been a significant difference in this study.

Also, our subjects did not ingest L-glutamine directly after exercise, rather 24, 46, and 72 hours

post-exercise. Women tend to have a significantly higher inflammatory response to exercise as

indicated by a higher neutrophil accumulation 2-4 hours after high force eccentric exercise

(MacIntyre et al., 2000). Women ingesting oral L-glutamine supplementation has been found to

be most beneficial when taken immediately after or within 24 hours of acute exercise (Legault et

al., 2015). Moreover, women may respond less than men to L-glutamine supplementation due to

potential sex differences that may attribute to the effects of estrogen on diminishing plasma
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kinase efflux in skeletal muscle. Furthermore, the effects of L-glutamine may be minimized in

women due to a greater buffering of plasma ammonia and endogenous production of glutamine

by adipocytes (Legault et al., 2015).

Conclusion

The current study does not support previous studies where subjects witnessed an

increased muscle torque as well as a decreased level of soreness. Results indicated no significant

difference in peak KF and KE muscle torque, as well as RPE in sedentary women. L-glutamine

supplementation seems to be effective when administered to trained individuals who perform

intense exercise compared to sedentary women. The benefits of L-glutamine supplementation in

sedentary women are unclear and require further investigations.

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