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Meta-Analysis
. 2021 Feb 5;18(1):11.
doi: 10.1186/s12970-021-00410-y.

Effect of sodium bicarbonate contribution on energy metabolism during exercise: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Jorge Lorenzo Calvo  1 , Huanteng Xu  2 , Daniel Mon-López  3 , Helios Pareja-Galeano  4 , Sergio Lorenzo Jiménez  5
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Effect of sodium bicarbonate contribution on energy metabolism during exercise: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Jorge Lorenzo Calvo et al. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. .

Abstract

Background: The effects of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) on anaerobic and aerobic capacity are commonly acknowledged as unclear due to the contrasting evidence thus, the present study analyzes the contribution of NaHCO3 to energy metabolism during exercise.

Methods: Following a search through five databases, 17 studies were found to meet the inclusion criteria. Meta-analyses of standardized mean differences (SMDs) were performed using a random-effects model to determine the effects of NaHCO3 supplementation on energy metabolism. Subgroup meta-analyses were conducted for the anaerobic-based exercise (assessed by changes in pH, bicarbonate ion [HCO3-], base excess [BE] and blood lactate [BLa]) vs. aerobic-based exercise (assessed by changes in oxygen uptake [VO2], carbon dioxide production [VCO2], partial pressure of oxygen [PO2] and partial pressure of carbon dioxide [PCO2]).

Results: The meta-analysis indicated that NaHCO3 ingestion improves pH (SMD = 1.38, 95% CI: 0.97 to 1.79, P < 0.001; I2 = 69%), HCO3- (SMD = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.10 to 2.17, P < 0.001; I2 = 80%), BE (SMD = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.16 to 2.19, P < 0.001, I2 = 77%), BLa (SMD = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.34 to 1.11, P < 0.001, I2 = 68%) and PCO2 (SMD = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.13 to 0.90, P = 0.009, I2 = 0%) but there were no differences between VO2, VCO2 and PO2 compared with the placebo condition.

Conclusions: This meta-analysis has found that the anaerobic metabolism system (AnMS), especially the glycolytic but not the oxidative system during exercise is affected by ingestion of NaHCO3. The ideal way is to ingest it is in a gelatin capsule in the acute mode and to use a dose of 0.3 g•kg- 1 body mass of NaHCO3 90 min before the exercise in which energy is supplied by the glycolytic system.

Keywords: Aerobic-based; Anaerobic-based; Energy metabolism, exercise; Sodium bicarbonate.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

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Fig. 1 PRIMA flow chart of selection process for articles included in this meta-analysis
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Fig. 2 Forest plot of standardized mean difference (SMD) of NaHCO3 vs. placebo on pH after exercise. Squares represent the SMD for each study. The diamonds represent the pooled SMD for all studies. CI: Confidence interval, df: degrees of freedom
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Fig. 3 Forest plot of standardized mean difference (SMD) of NaHCO3 vs. placebo on HCO3- after exercise. Squares represent the SMD for each study. The diamonds represent the pooled SMD for all studies. CI: Confidence interval, df: degrees of freedom.
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Fig. 4 Forest plot of standardized mean difference (SMD) of NaHCO3 vs. placebo on BE after exercise. Squares represent the SMD for each study. The diamonds represent the pooled SMD for all studies. CI: Confidence interval, df: degrees of freedom
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Fig. 5 Forest plot of standardized mean difference (SMD) of NaHCO3vs. placebo on BLa after exercise. Squares represent the SMD for each study. The diamonds represent the pooled SMD for all studies. CI: Confidence interval, df: degrees of freedom
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Fig. 6 The percentage of dose, duration and administration of 11 studies based on anaerobic exercise. GC: gelatin capsules, NR: not record
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Fig. 7 Forest plot of standardized mean difference (SMD) of NaHCO3 vs. placebo on VO2(A), VCO2(B), PO2(C) and PCO2(D) after exercise. Squares represent the SMD for each study. The diamonds represent the pooled SMD for all studies. CI: Confidence interval, df: degrees of freedom
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Fig. 8 The percentage of dose, duration and administration of 6 studies based on aerobic exercise. GC: gelatin capsules, NR: not record
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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