Assessing Acute Transcutaneous Carnosine Delivery as an Ergogenic Aid in Middle Distance Running

Abstract

This study investigated the ergogenic effect of acute application of a topical carnosine gel on middle distance running performance. In a block-randomised, single-blind, crossover design, 16 trained middle-distance runners (9 males, 7 females; age 25 ± 5 years; height, 177 ± 7 cm; mass, 67 ± 6 kg, training duration 8.3 ± 3.2 h/wk) performed an 800m outdoor individual time-trial under three different conditions: no-gel trial (NG), informed carnosine – given placebo gel (PG), and informed carnosine – given carnosine gel trial (CG). Gel dose was 0.2ml/kg body mass (13.4 ± 1.3 mL) which was applied to the upper and lower legs 60 min prior to the time-trial. Blood lactate (BLa), heart rate (HR) and perceptual responses were determined pre and post time-trial. Linear mixed modelling revealed that there was no difference in 800m performance time (p = .276), lap split difference (p = .419), peak HR (p = .956), perceived readiness (p = .644), or differential RPE (p = .805 to .891), between conditions. There was an overall effect of trial condition on post-trial peak blood lactate (p= .029), with a greater peak blood lactate in CG than NG trials (NG = 15.0 ± 4.2, PG = 15.5 ± 3.9, CG = 16.5 ± 3.7 mmol/L, p = .017, d = 0.45), but not PG vs CG trials (p = .114) or NG vs PG (p = .420). In conclusion, despite some evidence for greater blood lactate concentration, the application of a topical carnosine gel has no ergogenic placebo or true ergogenic effect on middle-distance running performance.