Ribose Fails to Perform

Title: Effects of Ribose Supplementation on Repeated Sprint Performance in Men

Researchers: JOHN M. BERARDI and TIM N. ZIEGENFUSS

Institution: Applied Physiology Laboratory, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan 48197

Reference: The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: (2003) Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 47Ð52.

Summary: This study used a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover design to evaluate the effects of oral ribose supplementation on short-term anaerobic performance.

Methods: After familiarization, subjects performed 2 bouts of repeated cycle sprint exercise (six 10-second sprints with 60-second rest periods between sprints) in a single day. After the second exercise bout, subjects ingested 32 g of ribose or cellulose (4 _ 8-g doses) during the next 36 hours. After supplementation, subjects returned to the laboratory to perform a single bout of cycle sprinting (as described above). After a 5-day washout period, subjects repeated the protocol, receiving the opposite supplement treatment.

Results: Ribose supplementation lead to statistically significant increases in mean power and peak power only in sprint 2 (10.9 and 6.6%, respectively) and higher (although not significant) absolute values in sprints 1, 3, and 4.

Conclusion: In conclusion, ribose supplementation did not show reproducible increases in performance across all 6 sprints. Therefore, within the framework of this investigation, it appears that ribose supplementation does not have a consistent or substantial effect on anaerobic cycle sprinting.

Discussion: Before we touch on this study, lets review what exactly ribose is for a second.

Ribose is a naturally occurring 5-carbon sugar called a "pentose". It is found in several foods we eat, but our body makes most of the ribose it needs from scratch. It is active in many of our body's systems, usually in its D-form (the L- form is it's mirror opposite). D-Ribose plays an important role as a structural component of high-energy phosphates such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as well as nucleic acids like DNA. As you can guess, ribose is an important substrate for every system and tissue in your body. When we consider taking ribose as a dietary supplement we are mainly focusing on its role as a substrate in ATP production, theoretically to improve exercise performance.

This is exactly the kind of research that we need on ALL supplements we spend our money on. Imagine if prescription drugs didn't have to be effective to be sold by doctors. It's a ludicrous thought! So why do we continue to spend our money on supps that haven't really been tested to see if they in fact do anything beneficial? If you're like me, its because we are desperate to make gains, desperate to see changes in our body, and desperate to find a way to ensure that all our hard work in the gym is going to pay off.

That brings us to our present study. The recommended dose for Ribose when you buy it as a supplement is 3 grams per day. Lest there be any doubt, they use 32 grams per day in this study, eliminating any doubt that they might not have used enough to see an effect.
Using over 10 times the recommended dose, these investigators were unable to produce a statistically significant and consistent effect. There own conclusions tell it all, "This investigation has not revealed any clear performance increases with oral ribose supplementation using doses even higher than those commonly ingested. Therefore, with the current high-price tag of oral ribose supplements, ribose does not appear to be a cost-effective supplement for athletes." Might I ad that it clearly is not a cost effective supplement for bodybuilders either.

Before wrapping this up I wanted to mention one other thing about attempts to prevent ATP levels from dropping. There are some beneficial adaptations to exercise that actually require a temporary reduction in ATP levels. This drop in ATP levels serves as the stimulus for metabolic adaptations. One of the most important ones is the increase in insulin sensitivity and/or glucose uptake into muscle cells after training. Studies have shown that if you artificially maintain ATP levels during the initiation of a high intensity exercise program, you don't get the up regulation of glucose transport into muscle cells. 1

Let me qualify these statements by saying that these studies were done on animals, and that ATP levels were maintained by means other than ribose supplementation. Nevertheless, these studies should tell the discerning supplement consumer that trying to reduce the metabolic consequences of training might be good for short-term performance, but in the long run, it also reduces the potency of the training stimulus.

Reference: http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/HSreport/iss07