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GAKIC

"These research results reinforce the view that GAKIC supplementation can be a useful aid for heavy athletes, similar to supplementing with creatine." Dr. Britini Buford and Alexander Koch Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 2004; 36:583-587

We perceive fatigue when we have exercised to the point where we feel the task requires more effort than it should. Fortunately, certain sports supplements have anti-exhaustion properties. For example, it's as clear as a bottle of Finlandia vodka ® that muscle creatine phosphate depletion leads to fatigue and creatine supplementation can increase phosphate-creatine concentration. Consequently, creatine supplementation improves maximal power/strength and work achieved during maximal effort muscle contractions, single sprint performance and repeated sprint performances. The latest anti-exhaustion supplement appears to be glycine-arginine-alpha-ketoisocaproic acid(GAKIC). In fact, the first study to examine the effects of GAKIC supplements on exercise performance was published in 2000. Although this study was extremely well conducted and published in the prestigious Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, it never made the headlines. I remember reading this article in 2000 and found it very interesting, but couldn't remember it until yesterday when my boss called me and mentioned that there was another GAKIC study in the latest issue of this same journal.

So what is GAKIC anyway?

GAKIC is a glycine and arginine monohydrochloride salt of alpha ketoisocaproic acid calcium.

Alpha Ketoisocaproate (KIC)

Alpha Ketoisocaproate (KIC) is a keto acid from leucine (branched-chain amino acid). Branched-chain keto acids (BCKAs) are very similar to branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), with the only difference that they contain a keto group instead of an amino group. In this way, BCKAs can be considered ammonia-free sources of BCAAs. KIC is anti-catabolic especially during catabolic states. Therefore, since any intense, strenuous activity is also catabolic, some think that there is a reason that KIC is of value to bodybuilders, powerlifters and aerobic athletes. Furthermore, BCKAs are essential for energy production in the muscle and for the detoxification (removal) of ammonia. During high intensity exercise, such as resistance exercise, ammonia is produced in large quantities and has also been found to play a role in fatigue. Finally, KIC stimulates insulin secretion.

KIC is further converted to alpha amino acid n-butyrate and beta hydroxy beta methylbutyrate (HMB), a compound popularized by Bill Philips. Although HMB certainly doesn't feel like Deca, a recent meta-analysis (quantitative statistical analysis that applies to different but similar trials) found that supplementing with HMB resulted in a net increase in lean body mass (0.28 percent per week) and strength gains (1.4 percent per week), but the effect of these changes was less than 0.2; such a change is considered small. As far as I know, the alpha-amino acid n-butyrate has not yet been studied in humans for its anabolic and anti-anabolic properties, but it may have some anabolic and/or anti-catabolic effects.

Glycine

Glycine is an essential amino acid. It has been found to increase growth hormone secretion in a dose-dependent manner. For example, Dr. Kasai and colleagues reported that oral administration of 6.75 grams of glycine to 19 humans significantly increased growth hormone levels for three hours, peaking three to four times approximately two hours after onset.

Furthermore, glycine plays a role as a stimulatory neurotransmitter. A neurotransmitter is a chemical contained in synaptic vesicles in nerve endings that is released into the synaptic cleft where it causes the production of a stimulatory or inhibitory postsynaptic potential.

Finally, glycine in combination with arginine has been found to increase endogenous (SEL) creatine levels by increasing creatine synthesis. A number of studies regarding the use of glycine to alleviate fatigue were conducted in the 1930s and 1940s, but with minimal results.

Arginine

Arginine, normally a minor amino acid in humans, is considered essential under certain circumstances. Arginine plays a significant role in nitrogen detoxification and has been shown to be beneficial in various diseases including liver and other diseases where ammonia levels are extremely high. As mentioned above, ammonia appears to play a role in fatigue.

GAKIC Patent

According to U.S. Patent Number 6,100,287 ("Materials and Methods for Enhancing Muscle Performance and Recovery from Fatigue"),

  • GAKIC treatment enhances the ability to maintain athletic muscle strength during intense anaerobic muscle training;
  • GAKIC treatment increases the ability to maintain athletic muscle performance during intense anaerobic muscle training; and
  • GAKIC increases overall muscle performance by reducing absolute muscle fatigue while delaying the rate of muscle fatigue.

Here is the patent

GAKIC studies

The purpose of the first GAKIC study by Dr. Bruce Stevens and colleagues at the University of Florida was to measure the effects of GAKIC supplements on human muscle dynamic performance (strength, work, fatigue) measured during acute, exhaustive, high-intensity and anaerobic isokinetic exercise. Subjects (13 healthy males) were orally administered 355-ml low-calorie cranberry juice containing either 11.20 grams of freshly dissolved powdered GAKIC or 9.46 grams of isocaloric sugar. This was drunk in three equal parts (parts of a whole) over 45 minutes. The results demonstrated that supplementation with GAKIC significantly improved performance compared to the isocaloric sugar treatment. The authors summarized the salient findings as follows: GAKIC increased the ability to maintain muscle strength (concentric moment of force) up to at least 28 percent during intense acute anaerobic muscle exercise; GAKIC increased the ability to maintain overall muscle work with up to at least 12 percent during intense anaerobic muscle exercise; and GAKIC increased overall muscle performance by delaying muscle fatigue for over nearly 15 minutes during early phases of anaerobic exercise. The purpose of the 2nd GAKIC study by Drs. Britni Buford and Alexander Koch at Truman State University was to determine the effects of GAKIC supplements during repeated bouts of anaerobic cycling performance.

Again, subjects (10 healthy men) drank the treatment beverage (GAKIC or sugar) in three equal proportions during a 45-minute period (the schedule of doses to be administered was identical to the first study by Dr. Stevens and colleagues). The results of this second study indicated that supplementation with GAKIC significantly attenuated the average decline in power output during repeated sprints of anaerobic cycling.

Conclusion

According to Drs. Buford and Koch, "These research results reinforce the notion that GAKIC supplementation may be a useful aid for heavy athletes, similar to creatine supplementation. Unlike creatine, which takes about five days to produce improvements in high and intense work, GAKIC appears to impart an ergogenic effect within minutes of consumption." However, we believe that more research is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn.

References

  1. Brook GA, Fahey TD, White TP, Baldwin KM (2000) Fatigue during muscular exercise. In: Human Bioenergetics and Its Applications. New York: McGraw-Hill, pp. 800-822.
  2. Greenhaff PL, Casey A, Constantin-Teodosiu D, Tzintzas K (1999) Energy metabolism of skeletal muscle fiber types and the metabolic basis of fatigue in humans. In: Hargreaves M, Thompson M, eds. Biochemistry of Exercise X. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, pp. 275-287.
  3. Kreider RB (2003) Effects of creatine supplementation on performance and training adaptations. Mol Cell Biochem, 244:89-94.
  4. Stevens BR, Godfrey MD, Kaminski TW, Braith RW (2000) High-intensity dynamic human muscle performance enhanced by a metabolic intervention. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 32:2102-2108.
  5. Buford BN, Koch AJ (2004) Glycine-arginine- -ketoisocaproic acid improves performance of repeated cycling sprints. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 36:583-587.
  6. Di Pasquale MG (1997) Amino Acids and Proteins for the Athlete: The Anabolic Edge. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
  7. Kasai K, Kobayashi M, Shimoda S (1978) Stimulatory effect of glycine on human growth hormone secretion. Metabolism, 27:201-204.
  8. Bucci LR (1993) Nutrients as Ergogenic Aids in Sports and Exercise. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
  9. Nissen SL, Sharp RL (2003) Effect of dietary supplements on lean mass and strength gains with resistance exercise: a meta-analysis. J Appl Physiol, 94:651-659.