The reason for this may be the small number of subjects and, on the other hand, physical performance parameters improved slightly in the PLACEBO group, too. DOMS The DOMS symptoms are particularly associated with the eccentric exercise [16, 17]. In soccer there are a lot of unaccustomed movements (jumps in various situations) and motions (acceleration runs and buy ITF2357 braking after sprint etc.) and therefore eccentric muscle functions

occur. In the present study the players marked on an average points from 1 to 3 out of 5 showing that they had all consistently some DOMS symptoms. During the last 4th study week the subjects of the HICA group felt milder symptoms compared to the subjects in the PLACEBO Procaspase activation group. Delayed presentation of the subjective effect could be explained by enzyme inhibition.

We don’t presently know the exact mechanism of action, but it can be speculated that decreased DOMS symptoms could be due to HICA’s direct inhibitory effect on various metalloproteinase enzymes [14]. Training alertness was also increased with concomitant decrease of DOMS symptoms. That effect was significantly noted after the 2nd week in the HICA group and thereafter it seemed to continue up to the last weeks. Mixture of BCAAs has recently shown to decrease symptoms of DOMS but the most effective ratio of the three BCAAs is unclear [43]. In our pilot study with wrestlers [15; unpublished] the findings with HICA suggested that it alone HDAC inhibitors in clinical trials is highly effective on DOMS symptoms. According to literature such effect has been described previously with the combination of α-keto isocaproic acid and β-hydroxy-β-methyl butyrate [21]. The mechanism by which HICA alleviates DOMS symptoms is unclear. Future studies are needed to compare the effects of different leucine metabolites, leucine itself and leucine-rich food in humans. Conclusion HICA supplementation of 1.5 g a day leads to small increases in muscle mass during a four week intensive training period in soccer athletes. Acknowledgements The authors thank the subjects participating in this study, Saana Saltevo

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