Topical carnosine gel improves intermittent high-intensity exercise performance in world-class rugby sevens players
Randomised controlled trialHumansTopical
- Design
- Randomised controlled trial
- Subjects
- 7 world-class male rugby sevens players, body mass 97.5 plus or minus 4.1 kg
- Dose used in the study
- 10 mL carnosine gel or ultrasound placebo gel applied 40 minutes before exercise
- Duration
- two sessions, counterbalanced triple-blind crossover
- What was measured
- Peak power, mean power and heart rate across 12 cycle-ergometer sprints (24 s at 3 W/kg, 6 s maximal sprint, 30 s rest, with a 2-minute break after sprint 6); RPE after sprint 12.
What the authors reported
The authors report treatment (P=1.44 x 10^-7) and time (P=5.49 x 10^-9) effects on peak power. Peak power was higher after carnosine in sprint 2 (1433 versus 1332 W, P=0.048, d=0.99), sprint 4 (1347 versus 1244 W, P=0.043, d=0.74) and sprint 7 (1426 versus 1270 W, P=0.025, d=0.98). No treatment effect on mean power, heart rate or RPE (P=0.211 to 0.847). They call for research on whether the gel raises intramuscular carnosine.
Limits of this study
Seven participants. Carnosine was not measured in muscle or blood, so delivery through the skin is not shown. Vendor pages describe this as a Wingate study; the protocol was repeated 6-second sprints. The underlying Master's thesis does not name the product. Full text not read.
Source
PubMed 40859880 · doi:10.1080/15502783.2025.2550311
Entry checked against PubMed abstract (E-utilities) on 2026-10-19. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.