Science of Sport: Adenosine - ATP is no creatine

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The search for the ‘new creatine’ continues – but ATP (adenosine 5-triphosphate) seems unlikely to fit the bill if the results of a new US study are anything to go by.

ATP (adenosine 5-triphosphate), found in every human cell, is the body’s universal energy donor. It also plays a key role in a number of other biological processes, including neurotransmission, muscle contraction, cardiac and circulatory function and liver glycogen metabolism.

So it is not too far-fetched to assume that supplementary ATP (adenosine 5-triphosphate) might offer some useful ergogenic benefits for athletes, particularly enhanced anaerobic capacity and muscular strength.

That was the theory these researchers set out to test with a study of 27 healthy men, randomly split into three equal groups receiving one of the following oral supplements for 14 days:

• Low-dose ATP (adenosine 5-triphosphate) (150mg);
• High-dose ATP (adenosine 5-triphosphate) (225mg);
• Placebo.

Because supplementary ATP (adenosine 5-triphosphate) is not easily absorbed by the body, the supplements were coated in a methylcellulose ‘shell’ designed to protect the molecule during its passage through the gut.

Anaerobic power (via the Wingate cycle ergometer test), muscle strength (via the bench press) and total blood ATP (adenosine 5-triphosphate) concentrations were measured under three conditions:

1. Baseline (before the supplementation regime began);
2. Acutely (seven days later, before and 75 minutes after ingestion of the first dose);
3. Post (after 14 days of daily ingestion).

Statistical analysis of all the data showed no significant effects of supplementation on blood ATP (adenosine 5-triphosphate) concentrations or anaerobic power either between or within groups. However, some improvements in measures of muscle strength were observed after treatment in the high-dose ATP (adenosine 5-triphosphate) group, although the researchers acknowledge that these effects were small and quite possibly spurious.

Interestingly, people in the high-dose group (who were, of course, blinded to which supplement they were receiving) reported feeling better during treatment. This improvement in sensation is physiologically plausible, the researchers point out, as ‘ATP (adenosine 5-triphosphate) and associate nucleotides have been shown to affect brain levels and release of noradrenaline, glutamine and serotonin and hence modulate mood and other responses…’

Nevertheless, they question the practical usefulness of the small improvements they observed and conclude that further research is needed before ATP (adenosine 5-triphosphate) supplementation can be recommended as an ergogenic aid.

Med Sci Sports Exerc, vol 36, no 6, pp 983-990

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