Possible contribution of skeletal muscle buffers to enhanced anaerobic performance: a brief review
ReviewHumans
- Design
- Review
- Subjects
- not applicable (review)
- Dose used in the study
- not applicable
- Duration
- not applicable
- What was measured
- Narrative review of the intracellular buffers of skeletal muscle (inorganic phosphate, protein histidine residues, carnosine, bicarbonate and creatine phosphate) and their possible role in anaerobic performance.
What the authors reported
The authors propose that sprint-trained athletes may have a greater intracellular buffering capacity, and that higher glycolytic enzyme activity and a higher fast-twitch fibre proportion do not appear to account for their performance. They reason that hydrogen ion accumulation lowers intracellular pH and inhibits enzymatic and contractile machinery, so stronger proton buffering could delay that fall. The buffers identified as able to contribute are inorganic phosphate, protein-bound histidine residues, the dipeptide carnosine, bicarbonate and creatine phosphate. The abstract itself reports no carnosine measurements.
Limits of this study
This is a review, not a trial; it presents a hypothesis and draws on other studies for its data. The abstract does not itself say muscle carnosine is higher in sprinters; a later citing source (Gatorade Sports Science Institute) attributes that observation to this review. The original measurements of buffering capacity in human vastus lateralis by the same group appeared separately (Parkhouse, McKenzie, Hochachka, Ovalle, J Appl Physiol 1985;58(1):14-17). Full text not read.
Source
PubMed 6092820 · doi:10.1249/00005768-198408000-00002
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.