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. 2022 Aug 9;10(8):120.
doi: 10.3390/sports10080120.

Acute Supplementation with Capsaicin Enhances Upper-Limb Performance in Male Jiu-Jitsu Athletes

Bruno Victor Corrêa da Silva  1 , Gustavo R Mota  2 , Moacir Marocolo  3 , Jeffrey S Martin  4 , Luciano Sales Prado  1
Affiliations

Acute Supplementation with Capsaicin Enhances Upper-Limb Performance in Male Jiu-Jitsu Athletes

Bruno Victor Corrêa da Silva et al. Sports (Basel). .

Abstract

The present study investigated whether acute capsaicin (CAP) supplementation improves mean power output (MPO) and peak velocity (PV) during the performance of the free bench press exercise (FBP). Twelve (n = 12) male Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) athletes (age: 24.3 ± 1.5 years, height: 1.74 ± 0.1 m, body mass: 75.7 ± 10.1 kg) participated in this randomized, placebo (PLA)-controlled, double-blind, crossover trial. For each condition, 45 min after CAP (12 mg purified) or PLA (12 mg of Celulomax E) consumption, the participants performed four sets of five repetitions of FBP at a load of 60% of body mass with five-min rest intervals. The MPO (t = 5.6, df = 11, p = 0.001, EF = 0.3, IC 95% = -0.55 to 1.05) and PV (t = 5.4, df = 11, p = 0.001, EF = 0.5, IC 95% = -0.32 to 1.30) were significantly higher with CAP supplementation versus PLA. Acute CAP supplementation appears to improve MPO and PV during FBP in male BJJ athletes.

Keywords: capsaicin; combat sports; ergogenic aids; power output; sports nutrition.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimental design of the study. After pilot, participants reported to the laboratory for anthropometric measurement and they were allocated one of two conditions, placebo (PL) or capsaicin (CAP). After one week of washout, the participants proceeded with the same assessments under the other condition.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison between effect of acute placebo (PLA) and capsaicin (CAP) ingestion on mean power output (left) and peak velocity (right) across 4 sets of 5 repetitions of free bench press at 60% of body mass. Data are presented as overall mean (bars) and horizontal lines represent individual data. * = statistically significant difference between CAP and PLA conditions.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison between effect of acute placebo (PLA) and capsaicin (CAP) ingestion on mean power output (A) and peak velocity (B) during 4 sets of 5 repetitions of free bench press. * = statistically significant difference between PLA and CAP conditions.
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