The Effect of the Acute Use of Different Doses of Glutamine Supplementation on Serum Testosterone and Cortisol Levels Following Exhaustive Exercise in Young Men

Anabolism has a major contribution in increasing proteolysis and muscle mass of athletes. This study was done to investigate the impact of the acute use of different doses of glutamine supplementation following exhaustive physical activity on cortisol and testosterone levels in young male athletes. 

Following a semi-experimental design, 24 male athletes with a mean age of 22.35±1.79 years were randomly selected and divided into two intervention groups (glutamine; 0.1 and 0.6 gr/kg body weight (BW) and a placebo group (10 g of dextrin dissolved in 500 mL water), each with eight subjects. Serum levels of cortisol and testosterone were measured immediately, 90 minutes, and 24 hours following the test. Data analysis was done using paired t-test and repeated measures analysis of variance at P<0.05.

Bruce protocol significantly increased cortisol levels immediately after physical activity (P<0.05). Cortisol levels significantly decreased in subjects receiving glutamine at 0.6 g/kg Bw (P=0.03) and 0.1 g/kg BW (P=0.02) 90 minutes and 24 hours following the protocol. Meanwhile, testosterone levels only increased in cases who received glutamine at 0.6 g/kg BW 24 hours following the protocol (P=0.02).

According to the results of this study, taking a glutamine supplement at a dose of 0.6 g/kg body weight after exhausting activities is probably effective in maintaining an anabolic profile.