What is Citrulline Malate?

Citrulline Malate is a combination of the amino acid Citruline, which is involved in the urea cycle and Malate, a tricarboxycylic acid cycle (TCA) intermediate – the TCA cycle is a major producer of aerobic energy within the mitochondria. Citrulline Malate has many positive effects on aerobic exercise performance including:

• 1) increased aerobic production of energy:
• 2) Improved stamina and fatigue resistance:
• 3) improved recovery and energy levels:

How does Citrulline Malate work?

Citrulline Malate works synergistically with Creatine. After exercise your creatine phosphate levels are depleted and it takes a while for the free creatine in your muscles to be rephosphorylated. With citrulline malate, the rate of phosphocreatine recovery after exercise is increased by 20%! This means that you recover more quickly between weight training sessions giving yourself a better opportunity to grow faster.

Citrulline Malate may also work very well with your NO2 products. Research has shown that Citrulline raises Arginine levels more effectively than taking the same dose of straight Arginine itself. Keeping this in mind then Citrulline Malate's NO enhancing properties are just one of the many unique benefits this nutrient offers to athletes. And if the enhanced pumps and improved nutrient delivery properties are the reason you are using Arginine based NO products, you need to pay attention to Citrulline Malate.

Who needs it and what are some symptoms of deficiency?

Anyone who is involved in aerobic exercise and who wants to enhance performance and reduce recovery time may benefit from citrulline malate supplementation. Since citrulline malate enhances the recovery process it is very useful for the recovery process of power athletes such as bodybuilders, powerlifters and strength athletes.

Since Citrulline is derived from the non-essential amino acid Citrukine there are no symptoms of deficiency and or side effects.

For best results look for products that give around 3000mg - 5000mg of citruline malate enhanced Creatine, Glutamine or NO2 per serving. On training days you may want to take one serving in the morning on an empty stomach at first rise. Then another 30-40 minutes before a workout.

How much should be taken? Are there side effects?

Follow manufactures instruction when using their products. Most citrulline malate for adults in doses of 1.5 - 2 grams by mouth daily for up to 4 months. Overall citrulline malate is possibly safe when used for up to 2-3 months. It's usually well-tolerated. Some people might experience stomach discomfort or heartburn.

One of the potential problems of taking too much citrulline malate is the damaging effects it has on the body's kidneys. While the damage is not directly caused by citrulline malate, the nonessential amino acid isomer can increase creatinine levels to a dangerous point.

Recent Studies

Citrulline is naturally produce in small quantities from the amino acid L-glutamine, and can be converted by our body to arginine. Supplementation with citrulline malate has been demonstrated to increase levels of arginine and ornithine (Callis et al., 1991) which are both important amino acids for muscle growth and have been shown to influence growth hormone levels. Arginine has many important roles within the body such as the production of nitric oxide which is important for increasing blood flow and oxygen delivery to muscles, and also increasing the rate of muscle growth.

Malate is believed to enhance the level of ATP (energy molecules) production through aerobic metabolism (Bendahan et al., 2002).

Citrulline malate has been used clinically to improve recovery from physical activity in patients with acute diseases (Creff, 1989). Research has demonstrated that citrulline malate has a protective effect against increased blood acidity and protects against ammonia poisoning (Callis et al., 1991). Supplementation with citrulline malate increases the rate of ammonia clearance without affecting ammonia accumulation during bicycle exercise (Vanuxem et al., 1990). This is because citrulline is involved in the urea cycle and therefore plays a role in the detoxification of ammonia.

Supplementation with citrulline malate has been shown to increase levels of bicarbonate (an acid buffer that soaks up lactic acid molecules) (Callis et al., 1991). This may allow you to exercise at a higher level before the negative effects of increased acidity affect exercise performance.

The research by Benedahan et al., 2002, demonstrated the great potential of citrulline malate supplementation to enhance aerobic performance. The most important finding of their research was that there was significantly more energy produced aerobically (34% increase). But they also found a significant reduction in the sensations of fatigue and found that rate of recovery, as measured by the rate of phospho-creatine recovery, improved by 20%. The researchers concluded that the increased aerobic ATP production, together with a reduced proportion of anaerobic energy supply, may contribute to the lower levels of fatigue experienced by the subjects.

Therefore, citrulline malate may be useful for all athletes for maintaining energy levels, improving recovery, enhancing exercise performance and fatigue resistance.

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