AJCN EB Program 2010
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Am J Clin Nutr 89: 1468-1475, 2009. First published March 25, 2009; doi:10.3945/ajcn.2008.26668
 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, doi:10.3945/ajcn.2008.26668
Vol. 89, No. 5, 1468-1475, May 2009
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
89/5/1468    most recent
ajcn.2008.26668v1
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Verhoeven, S.
Right arrow Articles by van Loon, L. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Verhoeven, S.
Right arrow Articles by van Loon, L. J.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Verhoeven, S.
Right arrow Articles by van Loon, L. J.
© 2009 American Society for Clinical Nutrition

ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION

Long-term leucine supplementation does not increase muscle mass or strength in healthy elderly men1,2,3

Suzanne Verhoeven, Kristof Vanschoonbeek, Lex B Verdijk, René Koopman, Will KWH Wodzig, Paul Dendale and Luc JC van Loon

1 From the Department of Human Movement Sciences, Nutrition and Toxicology Research Institute, Maastricht (NUTRIM), Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands (SV, KV, LBV, RK, and LJCvL); the Department of Clinical Chemistry, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands (WKWHW); and the Rehabilitation and Health Centre, Virga Jesse Hospital, Hasselt, Belgium (PD).

2 Leucine was kindly provided by Ajinomoto Co, Inc.

3 Reprints not available. Address correspondence to LJC van Loon, Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, Netherlands. E-mail: l.vanloon{at}hb.unimaas.nl.

Background: It has been reported that the blunted muscle protein synthetic response to food intake in the elderly can be normalized by increasing the leucine content of a meal.

Objective: The objective was to assess the effect of 3 mo of leucine supplementation on muscle mass and strength in healthy elderly men.

Design: Thirty healthy elderly men with a mean (±SEM) age of 71 ± 4 y and body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2) of 26.1 ± 0.5 were randomly assigned to either a placebo-supplemented (n = 15) or leucine-supplemented (n = 15) group. Leucine or placebo (2.5 g) was administered with each main meal during a 3-mo intervention period. Whole-body insulin sensitivity, muscle strength (one-repetition maximum), muscle mass (measured by computed tomography and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), myosin heavy chain isoform distribution, and plasma amino acid and lipid profiles were assessed before, during, and/or after the intervention period.

Results: No changes in skeletal muscle mass or strength were observed over time in either the leucine- or placebo-supplemented group. No improvements in indexes of whole-body insulin sensitivity (oral glucose insulin sensitivity index and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance), blood glycated hemoglobin content, or the plasma lipid profile were observed.

Conclusion: Long-term leucine supplementation (7.5 g/d) does not augment skeletal muscle mass or strength and does not improve glycemic control or the blood lipid profile in healthy elderly men. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00807508.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2009 by The American Society for Nutrition