Does L-Citrulline Impact Muscle Protein Synthesis?
Posted on July 04 2023
L-Citrulline Malate is making waves in the sports nutrition arena as a potential game changer. Citrulline gives that extra edge to maximize your training on the track, on the field, on the pitch, on the court, and at the gym.
The topic of today’s blog is, Does L-Citrulline Impact Muscle Protein Synthesis?
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What is L-Citrulline?
L-Citrulline is an amino acid that was first identified and extracted from the juice of watermelon, Citrullus vulgaris.
Citrulline is a non-essential amino acid which means it can be produced by the body. Citrulline is also obtained through dietary sources like watermelon, cucumbers, melons, and pumpkin.
L-Citrulline Malate is a compound consisting of the amino acid Citrulline bound to malic acid. Malic acid is the substrate of Krebs’ cycle that can help increase energy production in cells.
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Which Is Better L-Citrulline or L-Arginine?
L-Citrulline is a cut above when compared to L-Arginine in terms of absorbability, taste, solubility, and effectiveness.
When you consume L-Arginine, it should pass through the liver where it is metabolized by the enzyme arginase. L-Citrulline on the other hand bypasses the liver to reach the kidneys where it is metabolized into arginine.
L-Arginine tends to be bitter in taste, and highly water absorbent. L-Citrulline is tasteless and non-hygroscopic.
L-Citrulline is shown to increase NO levels significantly better than an equal dose of arginine.
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L-CITRULLINE ENHANCES MUSCLE POWER OUTPUT
L-Citrulline enhances muscle power output by lowering the adenosine triphosphate cost of muscle contractions.
L-Citrulline improves muscle function and muscle capacity to sustain heavy workouts through increased production of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide plays a crucial role in improved blood circulation, better delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles. The better availability of oxygen to working muscles for energy production helps you to push yourself through higher exercise intensities. More reps mean more muscle adaptations which translate into greater gains in muscle size and strength.
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L-CITRULLINE INCREASES TIME TO FATIGUE
Blood lactate levels represent a great source for faster onset of fatigue. Lactate is produced during intense exercise when oxygen is insufficient. Hydrogen ions dissociate from the lactic acid and accumulate in the muscles, causing fatigue and depressing muscle contraction.
L-Citrulline represents a great source of energy and occupies one of the leading roles in reducing fatigue. By increasing arginine levels in the body, L-Citrulline plays a crucial role in increasing muscle stores of phosphocreatine, which in turn helps increase the muscle’s ability to resynthesize ATP from ADP. This helps your body meet increased muscle energy demands and increases time to fatigue.
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L-CITRULLINE PROMOTES MUSCLE PROTEIN SYNTHESIS
Cellular ATP generation has to be constantly and closely matched to avoid energy deficits during muscle protein synthesis. Cellular protein synthesis has a very high energy requirement in the form of ATP. L-Citrulline upregulates energy metabolism by increasing phosphocreatine regeneration after exercise. Reduced ATP levels hinders protein synthesis.
Citrulline is converted into arginine and arginine serves as a precursor for the synthesis of nitric oxide.
While Citrulline itself does not directly generate ATP, it can play a role in the production of nitric oxide and arginine, which can have implications for energy metabolism.
As per studies, L-Citrulline Malate increases muscle protein synthesis in subjects that have a low protein intake.
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L-CITRULLINE PROMOTES AMMONIA CLEARANCE
Ammonia is a toxic byproduct that is generated during the breakdown of proteins and other nitrogen-containing compounds. High levels of ammonia are an important fatigue factor during exercise which may lead to impaired exercise performance. Raised levels of ammonia hinder glycogen formation and lead to muscle fatigue, which declines the muscle’s ability to generate force. L-Citrulline is involved in the urea cycle, which helps eliminate ammonia, a byproduct of protein metabolism. By participating in the urea cycle, Citrulline helps convert ammonia into urea, which can be safely excreted by the kidneys.
By promoting ammonia clearance, Citrulline may help maintain muscle function and delay fatigue.
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