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CITRULLINE IN ELITE SPORTS: IS THERE A POINT? (0.5 Mb, pdf) Read
Authors:
Bezuglov Ehduard Nikolaevich
Pirmakhanov Bekzhan Anatolevich
Talibov Oleg Bukarovich
Ivanov Kirill Vladimirovich
Takhavieva Farida Vazikhovna
Butovskii Mikhail Sergeevich
Borisova Alena Vladimirovna
Annotation:

Despite the contradictory data on the effect citrulline has on various aspects of physical performance and post-exercise recovery, it is commonly used in sports. Most of the available studies have been performed in recent years, which affirms the increased interest in this substance. The inconsistent data on the effectiveness of citrulline can be associated with the heterogeneity of both the research protocols and the study samples. Thus, coaches and athletes of various levels may be interested in the results of high methodological quality research that assessed the effect of acute and chronic intake of citrulline on various aspects of physical performance.

The research purpose is to evaluate the effect of citrulline on physical performance in elite athletes.

Materials and methods. The Pubmed database was searched for randomized controlled trials in English conducted from 2000 to 2021 among healthy subjects of different levels of physical fitness to assess the effect of a single standardized intake of citrulline or citrulline malate on various parameters of physical performance and post-exercise recovery, such as rating of perceived exertion, delayed onset muscle soreness, lactate, creatine kinase, strength, power, endurance, speed, heart rate and blood pressure.
The words ‘citrulline malate’ and ‘citrulline’, as well as their combinations with words and phrases ‘rating of perceived exertion’, ‘delayed onset muscle soreness’, ‘lactate’, ‘strength’, ‘power’, ‘endurance’, ‘speed’, ‘physical performance’, ‘heart rate’, ‘creatine phosphokinase’ and ‘blood pressure’ were used as search queries. 
The search was carried out by two independent experts where any disputes were resolved by the opinion of the main author of the study. The exclusion criteria were as follows:
- age of participants less than 18 years;
- participants with any somatic pathology;
- use of citrulline or citrulline malate in combination with other substances.

Results. A total of 1286 studies were found, of which 22 (427 participants) were randomized controlled trials that met the inclusion criteria. The majority of research was conducted on amateur-level athletes or physically active healthy people from the general population aged 18 to 51 years. Six studies analyzed the effect of a course standardized ingestion, while 16 analyzed the effect of a single dose of citrulline on various aspects of physical performance, cardiovascular performance and post-exercise recovery.
When analyzing the data on the effectiveness of citrulline, it was reported that 10 out of 22 studies could provide no evidence that citrulline effectively improved any of the analyzed parameters. In other studies, citrulline was most effective in improving strength parameters (6 studies), endurance parameters (5 studies) and reducing the severity of delayed onset muscle soreness (4 studies). Regarding the rating of perceived exertion, only 3 studies reported a positive effect of citrulline. Two more studies provided evidence of a negative effect on the rating of perceived exertion. There was also no evidence to suggest the effectiveness of citrulline on creatine phosphokinase concentration. The effectiveness of citrulline in reducing the severity of delayed onset muscle soreness at any time after exercising was shown in only 2 studies. 

Conclusion. The use of citrulline is not recommended for elite athletes. The data obtained during the analysis of studies on the effect of citrulline on various aspects of physical performance were contradictory. Only a small number of studies examined data on the effectiveness of citrulline in improving performance indicators that are important for athletes, such as strength, endurance, delayed onset muscle soreness and lactate concentration. In addition, there is a possibility of unintentional violation of anti-doping rules. 

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