TITLE: Acute Arginine α-ketoglutarate Supplementation Fails to Improve Muscle Endurance or Affect Blood Pressure Responses to Resistance Training

Dietary supplement companies claim that arginine supplements acutely enhance skeletal muscular endurance. The purpose of this study was to determine whether acute arginine α-ketoglutarate supplementation (AAKG) will affect local muscle endurance of the arm and shoulder girdle, or the blood pressure (BP) response to anaerobic exercise. Twelve trained college-aged males (22.6 ± 3.8 yr) performed two trials of exercise separated by at least one week. At four hours prior, and 30 minutes prior to exercise, a serving of an AAKG supplement (3700 mg arginine alpha-ketoglutarate/serving) or placebo was administered. Resting BP was assessed pre-exercise after 16 minutes of seated rest, as well as 5 and 10 minutes post exercise. Three sets each of chin-ups, reverse chin-ups, and push-ups were performed to exhaustion with three minutes of rest between each set. Data was analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and paired t-tests. AAKG supplementation did not improve muscle endurance or significantly affect the BP response to anaerobic work. Subject