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Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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16.09.2010 |
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Q10 raises endurance (a little) in human study
Endurance athletes might be able to enhance their performance by taking 200 mg of the co-enzyme Q10 two weeks before a competition. A study done at Baylor University suggests this may be the case. Should we raise our expectations? That's taking it a bit far, but it might not hurt to try.
Before starting the supplementation, the researchers subjected their guinea pigs to a battery of tests. A few days later, an hour after the subjects had taken their first supplement, the researchers repeated the tests. During the two weeks that the subjects took the Q10 the researchers repeated the procedure twice.
The researchers measured the concentration of Q10 in the subjects' muscles while they were doing the tests. They discovered that the concentration of Q10 in the muscle cells rose in the first few hours after swallowing the first pill.
The researchers detected no changes in the blood from the supplements, except that the concentration of triglycerides went down by 12 percent. This is a positive sign. The lower the amount of triglycerides in your blood, the less likely you are to contract cardiovascular disease.
The researchers got their subjects to exercise on a leg-extension machine, using a weight with which they would theoretically be capable of completing 50 reps. They found no effects. They also recorded no effect when they measured the subjects' VO2max.
But in an endurance test where the subjects had to gradually increase their exertions, the Q10 suddenly kicked in. It lengthened the amount of time the subjects were capable of cycling. The effect was almost statistically significant.
In some human studies Q10 appears to have an effect, and in others not. The researchers suspect that in a couple of the 'unsuccessful' studies the dose used was too low, or that they used lower quality Q10 supplements.
This experiment used Fast-Melt Coenzyme Q10, produced by the Swiss Pharma Base. You guessed it – Pharma Base paid for the research.
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