Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
|
|
||||||||
12.02.2016 |
|
Theacrine: caffeine's gentler brother
For athletes who get shivery, jittery and nervous from ordinary caffeine, there's now a new alternative available from online stores. It's called theacrine, and according to the animal and sponsored human studies that we’ve read it works – without the side effects of caffeine. What’s more, it seems that theacrine is safe too.
Theacrine
Theacrine versus caffeine
You usually find theacrine in supplements in combination with other stimulatory substances. Theacrine can reinforce the effect of these substances because it increases their solubility and therefore also their absorbability. Caffeine does the same, but theacrine does this five times better. [Mutat Res. 1977;39(3-4):297-315.]
Purus Labs puts theacrine together with caffeine, citrus extract and rauwolscine in TheaTrim. In 2015 a human study was published which showed that this supplement didn't improve the subjects' mental performance but it did help them to feel more energetic. [Nutrients. 2015 Nov; 7(11): 9618–9632.]
If you extrapolate the results of animal studies to humans, it seems that theacrine, unlike caffeine, in the doses you find in bodybuilding supplements has a painkilling effect. [Fitoterapia. 2010 Sep;81(6):627-31.]
Another difference between theacrine and caffeine is that, after a week, caffeine supplementation begins to lose its effect. As we mentioned above, caffeine works by sabotaging the adenosine receptors. Adenosine is a substance that tells cells to calm down. Administration of adenosine induces the body to make more adenosine receptors, which in turn reduces the stimulatory effect of caffeine. Somehow or other this doesn't happen in animal studies where theacrine was administered instead.
Pilot study
The supplement continued to have an effect throughout the period of the experiment. It seems that the subjects' bodies did not get used to it, as would have happened with caffeine. Up to six hours after intake the subjects reported feeling less fatigue, less stress, more libido, more inclination to do training, more concentration and more energy.
In comparable studies where the subjects were given caffeine, after a few hours there was a rebound effect, where subjects sometimes report feeling distinctly off colour. This doesn't seem to happen with theacrine.
Bigger study
The researchers found no indications that theacrine was dangerous to the liver, the immune system or the cardiovascular system. It also had no effect on body composition.
T1 = before supplementation, T2 = after 4 weeks’ supplementation, T3 = after 8 weeks' supplementation; PL = placebo, LD = 200 mg theacrine per day, HD = 300 mg theacrine per day.
As the figures above show, theacrine supplementation did not lead to a reduction in fat mass. So the results of this study might raise doubt about the use of theacrine in slimming supplements. It seems that the substance is more suitable for pre-workout products.
Source:
More:
Archives: |
|