What is Citrulline?
L-citrulline is one of the three dietary amino acids in the urea cycle, alongside L-arginine and L-ornithine. It is used in areas where nitric oxide is relevant, namely athletic performance, vascular health and erectile dysfunction.
Citrulline Malate?
Citrulline bound to malate, an organic salt of malic acid. It is the most researched form of citrulline. Malate is mainly responsible for the sour taste of citrulline malate.
Arginine or Citrulline?
Now if citrulline ultimately produce arginine in our body, why don’t we consume arginine directly?
A small amount of research suggests that taking citrulline will lead to higher and more consistent arginine levels than taking arginine itself. Citrulline is very readily converted into arginine as needed and it is also better absorbed than arginine, which not only makes it a better source of arginine for body but also eventuate in lower rate of gastrointestinal upset.
Benefits?
Several studies have shown that citrulline malate can improve weight training performance.
In a research, participants who took citrulline were able to perform 53% more repetitions compared to participants who took placebo(A placebo is anything that seems to be a “real” medical treatment — but isn’t. It could be a pill, a shot, or some other type of “fake” treatment. What all placebos have in common is that they do not contain an active substance meant to affect health).
What’s more, muscle soreness in the two days after exercise was 40% lower when participants consumed citrulline malate before exercising.
Dosage?
In most of the researches, participants took 6-8 gram of citrulline malate 45-60 minutes before their workout for efficacious performance enhancement.
LINKS TO RESEARCHES:
That’s all about today’s blog. See you all in my next blog. Till then, stay healthy, keep exercising and be considerate towards others.
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Fitness Aficionado 