Carbohydrate supplementation during prolonged cycling exercise resulted in a 38 +/- 19% decrease in type I muscle-fiber glycogen utilization compared to a placebo.
Plasma glucose rates and carbohydrate oxidation were significantly higher with carbohydrate supplementation than with water only.
Type II muscle-fiber glycogen utilization decreased by 57 +/- 22% during the first hour of exercise with carbohydrate intake.
Carbohydrate ingestion led to a 34 +/- 12% reduction in plasma free fatty acid oxidation rates during exercise.
utilization was not affected by carbohydrate supplementation, with similar reductions in lipid content observed in both trials.
Simplified
Using contemporary stable-isotope methodology and fluorescence microscopy, we assessed the impact of carbohydrate supplementation on whole-body and fiber-type-specific intramyocellular triacylglycerol () and glycogen use during prolonged endurance exercise. Ten endurance-trained male subjects were studied twice during 3 h of cycling at 63 +/- 4% of maximal O(2) uptake with either glucose ingestion (CHO trial; 0.7 g CHO kg(-1) h(-1)) or without (CON placebo trial; water only). Continuous infusions with [U-(13)C] palmitate and [6,6-(2)H(2)] glucose were applied to quantify plasma free fatty acids (FFA) and glucose oxidation rates and to estimate intramyocellular lipid and glycogen use. Before and after exercise, muscle biopsy samples were taken to quantify fiber-type-specific IMTG and glycogen content. Plasma glucose rate of appearance (R (a)) and carbohydrate oxidation rates were substantially greater in the CHO vs CON trial. Carbohydrate supplementation resulted in a lower muscle glycogen use during the first hour of exercise in the CHO vs CON trial, resulting in a 38 +/- 19 and 57 +/- 22% decreased utilization in type I and II muscle-fiber glycogen content, respectively. In the CHO trial, both plasma FFA R (a) and subsequent plasma FFA concentrations were lower, resulting in a 34 +/- 12% reduction in plasma FFA oxidation rates during exercise (P < 0.05). Carbohydrate intake did not augment IMTG utilization, as fluorescence microscopy revealed a 76 +/- 21 and 78 +/- 22% reduction in type I muscle-fiber lipid content in the CHO and CON trial, respectively. We conclude that carbohydrate supplementation during prolonged cycling exercise does not modulate IMTG use but spares muscle glycogen use during the initial stages of exercise in endurance-trained men.
Key numbers
38±19%
Decrease in Type I Muscle Glycogen Use
Comparison of glycogen utilization in the CHO vs CON trial during the first hour.
57±22%
Decrease in Type II Muscle Glycogen Use
Comparison of glycogen utilization in the CHO vs CON trial during the first hour.
76±21%
Reduction in Type I Muscle Fiber Content
Net decline in lipid content in type I fibers in both trials.
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