Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the L-Alanyl-L-Glutamine dipeptide (AG) on cognitive function and reaction time (RT) following endurance exercise. Twelve male endurance athletes (23.5 ± 3.7 y; 175.5 ± 5.4 cm; 70.7 ± 7.6 kg) performed four trials, each consisting of running on a treadmill at 70% of VO₂max for 1h, then at 90% of VO₂max until exhaustion. One trial consisted of no hydration (DHY), another required ingestion of only a sports electrolyte drink (ED) and two trials required ingestion of a low dose (LD; 300 mg·500 ml⁻¹) and high dose (HD) of AG (1 g·500ml⁻¹) added to the ED. Cognitive function and reaction tests were administered pre- and post-exercise. Magnitude based inferences were used to analyze ∆ cognitive function and ∆ reaction test data. Results indicated that DHY had a possible negative effect on number of hits in a 60-sec reaction test compared to LD and HD, while ED appeared to have a negative effect compared to HD. Analysis of lower body quickness indicated that LD and HD were likely improved in comparison to DHY. Performance on the serial subtraction test appeared to be possibly better in ED than DHY, while other comparisons between groups regarding cognitive function were unclear. In conclusion, rehydrating with AG during submaximal exercise may maintain or enhance subsequent RT in upper and lower body activities compared to DHY. These same effects were not apparent when participants consumed ED.