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Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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09.12.2010 |
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N-Carbamyl Glutamate boosts muscle tissue synthesis
The amino acid N-carbamyl glutamate [structure shown below] raises muscle tissue synthesis. Researchers at the American ministry of agriculture discovered this when they did tests on piglets a couple of days old.
N-Carbamyl Glutamate is already on the market. Unknown quantities are found in combination products like Noxipro, a pre-workout supplement made by CTD Labs. It is not clear what N-carbamyl glutamate's contribution is to the effectiveness of Noxipro.
N-Carbamyl Glutamate activates carbamyl phosphate synthase-1, an enzyme that is needed to produce arginine. In newborn piglets the production of arginine is still sky high, but declines rapidly after a few days. The decline is so steep that the researchers thought the piglets might grow less quickly because of this.
That's why the researchers gave their lab animals a daily dose of 100 mg N-carbamyl glutamate per kg bodyweight for a week, and then looked at whether the piglets had grown faster as a result.
Half of the lab animals were given normal feed rations until just before the measurements were taken [fed] and the other half received no food for 12 hours before the measurements [food restricted].
After a week of supplementation the researchers analysed the piglets' blood. They discovered that the N-carbamyl glutamate had indeed boosted the arginine concentration in the blood, and, probably as a result of this, the growth hormone concentration had also increased. The piglets' blood also contained less ammonia, a waste product from protein metabolism. Arginine speeds up the process of clearing ammonia out of the blood.
Promising results, even though what works for piglets might not work for humans. On the other hand though: pigs are not rats or mice. Pigs bear a startling resemblance to humans. What works for pigs might just work for us too.
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