Combined but Not Isolated Ingestion of Caffeine and Taurine Improves Wingate Sprint Performance in Female Team-Sport Athletes Habituated to Caffeine

• Published in: Sports (Basel) Vol. 9; no. 12; p. 162
• Main Authors: Karayigit, Raci, Naderi, Alireza, Saunders, Bryan, Forbes, Scott C, Coso, Juan Del, Berjisian, Erfan, Yildirim, Ulas Can, Suzuki, Katsuhiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 27.11.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: anaerobic capacity; Body mass; Caffeine; Energy drinks; ergogenic aids; Exercise; Heart rate; high-intensity exercise performance; intermittent exercise; Lactic acid; Physical training; Systematic review; Taurine; United Kingdom > UK; Sweden; anaerobic capacity; high-intensity exercise performance; intermittent exercise; ergogenic aids
• ISSN: 2075-4663; 2075-4663
• DOI: 10.3390/sports9120162

Previous studies have investigated caffeine (CAF) and taurine (TAU) in isolation and combined during exercise in males. However, the potential synergistic effect during high-intensity exercise remains unknown in female athletes. Seventeen female team-sport athletes participated (age: 23.4 ± 2.1 years; height: 1.68 ± 0.05 m; body mass: 59.5 ± 2.2 kg). All participants were habitual caffeine consumers (340.1 ± 28.6 mg/day). A double-blind randomized crossover design was used. Participants completed four experimental trials: (i) CAF and TAU (6 mg/kg body mass of CAF + 1 g of TAU), (ii) CAF alone; (iii) TAU alone; and (iv) placebo (PLA). Supplements were ingested 60 min before a 30-s Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT). Heart rate and blood lactate (BL) were measured before and immediately after the WAnT; and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded immediately after the WAnT. Peak power (PP) was significantly higher following co-ingestion of CAF+TAU compared to PLA ( = 0.03) and TAU ( = 0.03). Mean power (MP) was significantly higher following co-ingestion of CAF+TAU compared to PLA ( = 0.01). No other differences were found between conditions for PP and MP ( > 0.05). There were also no observed differences in fatigue index (FI), BL; heart rate; and RPE between conditions ( > 0.05). In conclusion, compared to PLA the combined ingestion of 6 mg/kg of CAF and 1 g of TAU improved both PP and MP in female athletes habituated to caffeine; however; CAF and TAU independently failed to augment WAnT performance.