The effect of carbohydrate mouth rinse on 30-minute arm cranking performance

Abstract

The aim was to examine the effect of carbohydrate mouth rinse on 30-minute arm cranking performance. Twelve healthy, active males (age 21.6, SD = 3.1 years; mass 76.2, SD = 12.2 kg) volunteered in a single-blind, randomised crossover design. Firstly they completed an incremental exercise test to exhaustion (VO2max test) on an arm crank (50W for 2 minutes, increasing by 10W every minute). During visit 2 and 3 they arm cranked for maximal distance over 30 minutes at a resistance equivalent to 50% of their peak power, mouth rinsing for 5 seconds with either 25ml of a tasteless 6.4% maltodextrin solution (CHO) or 25ml of water (placebo) every 6 minutes. A letter cancellation test was performed pre and post exercise to measure cognitive function. The result showed that cognitive function was not significantly different between trials (P = 0.874). There was no significant difference in distance arm cranked between trials (P = 0.164) even though 9 out of 12 participants had improved performance on the CHO trial. In conclusion, further research is needed to determine the ergogenic effect of CHO mouth rinsing on upper body exercise performance.