The rate of glycogen resynthesis in human skeletal muscle after glycogen-depleting exercise is known to depend on carbohydrate
intake and is reported to reach a platean after an adequate amount of carbohydrate (CHO) consumption. Efforts to maximize
the rate of glycogen storage by changing the type and form of CHO, as well as by adding proteins or lipids have yielded inconsistent
results. The objective of this study was to assess whether isocaloric addition of proteins and arginine to a CHO diet in the
first 4 h after an endurance exercise would increase the rate of glycogen synthesis. The CHO solution, given twice at a 2
h interval according to earlier optimized protocols, contained 1.7 g CHO kg
body weight. The effects of this solution were compared to those of an isocaloric solution containing 1.2 g CHO/kg
body weight plus 0.5 g protein/kg
body weight (including 5 g arginine). Glycogen was measured in quadriceps muscle in vivo with natural abundance
13C-magnetic resonance spectroscopy before exercise and twice after exercise, before and at the end of a 4-h period following
the intake of one of the solutions. Eight subjects took part in a randomized cross-over trial separated by at least 1 week.
Glycogen synthesis was found to be significantly increased with both regimes compared to a zero-caloric placebo diet, but
no significant difference in glycogen resynthesis was found between the CHO-only diet and the one supplemented by proteins
and arginine. It is estimated that significance would have been reached for an increase of 34%, while the effectively measured
synthesis rates only differed by 5%.
Keywords Exercise - Glycogen - Carbohydrate - Protem - Arginine - Insulin - Magnetic resonance spectroscopy