Clinical trial NCT03121040: Clinical Trial for Vespa Amino Acid Mixture (VAAM®)
Official title: Improved ATP Generation Efficiency for Younger Athletes by Ingestion of a Vespa Amino Acid Mixture
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Sports Injury
Keywords: Vespa amino acid mixture (VAAM®)
Young athletes
Nutrition
lactic acid accumulation
Anaerobic metabolism
ATP
Sports damage
Lead sponsor: Shanghai Meiji Health Science and Technology Co., Ltd.
Sponsor class: INDUSTRY
First posted: 2017-04-19
Enrollment: 10
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 16
Maximum age (years): 18
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: SEQUENTIAL
Primary purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Brief summary: ATP is generated mainly through anaerobic metabolism during strenuous exercise, which is then followed by the generation of lactic acid. However, this process can only be maintained for a short time, approximately one minute, because the accumulation of lactic acid in the muscles may affect muscle performance. The efficiency of lactic acid metabolism is one of the most important reasons for endurance improvement. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impacts of the daily ingestion of a commercially available Vespa amino acid mixture (VAAM®) beverage on blood parameters that are related to fatigue, muscle damage and immunity in healthy, young athletes during middle-distance running exercises. VAAM® contains 17 types of amino acids at a certain ratio, and evaluations were completed during 10 weeks of consecutive required speed and strength running tests.

Detailed description: The subjects were instructed to maintain their usual dietary habits in addition to drinking VAAM® (two cans every day) for 10 weeks. In detail, on the 6 days/week of supervised running tests, participants were instructed to consume one drink before their warm-up exercise and the other drink while running. During their sessions and without supervision (1 day/week), participants were also instructed to consume one drink in the morning after breakfast and the other drink in the evening after dinner.

The subjects were divided into three groups for the running tests: 3 males were assigned to group 1, which involved training for the 1500-meter race; 2 males were assigned to group 2, which involved training for the 800-meter race; and 1 male and 3 females were assigned to group 3, which involved training for the 400-meter race. The running exercises began with a 45 min warm-up (including jogging, leg stretching, etc.) followed by running their specific races. The experimental procedure was conducted 6 days/week for 10 weeks.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Athletes from 16 to 18 years old;
* Subjects underwent a physical examination before enrollment and showed no sign of illness or malaise.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Subjects were smokers or ergogenic aid users;
* Subjects had any metabolic, cardiovascular, renal, or liver diseases;
* Subjects had psychiatric disorders.

Primary outcomes:
measure: change of running time scores at 10 weeks
timeFrame: 10 weeks
measure: change of the plasma lactic acid clearance rate after running at 10 weeks
timeFrame: 10 weeks
measure: change of red blood cells after running at 10 weeks
timeFrame: 10 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
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