STAMINO2: Finish the job that creatine started
by Pat Arnold
If you are taking creatine then you are only addressing half of the equation
of muscle energy, recovery, and growth!!!
Creatine works by enhancing your muscle’s energy supply and re-supply capacity
through the anaerobic pathway. It does this by increasing concentrations
of creatine phosphate, which is the muscle’s immediate storage house for
valuable phosphate ions. In the form of creatine phosphate, these ions are
readily available to restore the activity of the primary muscle fuel ATP.
Creatine phosphate works in conjunction with glycogen to provide immediate
energy to the muscle. These compounds do not require the presence of oxygen
to do their work, hence they are termed anaerobic (without oxygen) substrates.
The down side of the story is that creatine phosphate is quickly used up.
In addition to this, anaerobic breakdown of glycogen for energy (glycolysis)
soon comes to a halt as lactic acid builds up.
At this point it is time for the aerobic re-supply of ATP to take over. The
aerobic energy system is complex and involves many metabolic pathways that
use glucose, glycolytic by-products, as well as fats for substrates.
Citrulline Malate – “Aerobic Creatine???”
As I explained, creatine works by supporting and enhancing the anaerobic
production of energy in the muscle. Unfortunately, it does nothing to address
the production of aerobic energy in the muscle.
This is where citrulline malate comes in. Citrulline malate has been shown
to increase aerobic ATP production in the muscle by 34%! The result is a
marked decrease in fatigue and a substantial increase in aerobic exercise
performance. Citrulline malate does this in part by stimulating the removal
and utilization for energy of the lactic acid formed during anaerobic glycolysis.
Citrulline malate works synergistically with creatine in another way as well.
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 and Ammonia
Ammonia is a toxic metabolic by product produced by your muscles, especially
during intense exercise. Ammonia is removed from the body by the liver’s
urea cycle. Ammonia is very toxic to the body and muscles; the build up of
ammonia in the body results in a rapid onset of fatigue. If the levels are
not reduced, they can lead to muscle catabolism and interference with brain
function. Severe ammonia toxicity can lead to organ failure, and eventually
death.
Citrulline Malate stimulates the urea cycle and therefore markedly increases
the body’s ability to remove ammonia. Ammonia is thus converted to the harmless
by-product urea, and excreted from the body.
Over 20 years of proven value
Citrulline Malate has been sold in France under the name Stimol™ for over
20 years. There, it has mostly been used in the clinical setting for use
with weakened and elderly patients, as well in the general population for
general fatigue. The results in many cases have been remarkable, with observations
of renewed energy, vitality, and mental function to previously physically
and mentally impaired patients (see abstracts at end of article)
StaminO2 – Citrulline Malate solution
StaminO2 is Ergopharm’s brand of Citrulline malate and it is sold in the
same liquid based form that it has been successfully used for decades in
France. One capful of pleasant tasting sour apple StaminO2 provides 3 grams
of Citrulline malate. The recommended dosage is one 3 gram serving, twice
a day. Maximum results are usually seen after 15 days. It usually is a good
idea to take one of the doses before training, and it is also a very good
idea to consume StaminO2 at the same time as creatine supplements.
Users of StaminO2 should notice greater stamina during intense workouts,
better pumps, and quicker recovery – both between sets and between workouts.
Users may also experience enhanced well being, general energy, and mental
and sexual function.
ABSTRACTS:
Randomized Double Blind Placebo Controlled Trial of Citrulline Malate
in Geriatrics M. Carbasse, Regional Teaching HospitalCenter, Nimes, France.
This double blind placebo controlled randomized trial thus refined and confirmed
the results of an earlier open study with citrulline malate, confirming the
efficacy of the preparation against the clinical manifestation of cerebral
aging. Stimol®is therefore felt to be of particular value in geriatrics
for the following: 1. High level of safety 2. High level of acceptability
3. Ease of administration 4. And above all, rapidity of action. Results were
clinically detectable by the 3rd or 4th and at least the 5th day of treatment.
There was an improvement in skin color and a higher level of conscious awareness.
While it is difficult at the present time to confirm a favorable effect on
individual items (with the exception of vigilance), patients felt better
and often reported this spontaneously. If no result is found after two weeks
of treatment, it is felt to be of no value to continue. The action of the
majority of pharmaceutical preparations aimed at improving cerebral function
or oxygenation is far less rapid and clear cut.
Analysis of the Activity of Stimol®, Double Blind Trial on Fatigue.
F. Commandre. La Vie Medicale, April 3,l978.
Assessment of the efficacy of an antifatigue medicine is possible only by
use of a meticulous methodological approach. It was with this in mind that
the study reported here was undertaken, its objective being to evaluate the
antifatigue activity of Stimol® by comparing it with a placebo. Stimol®,
or citrulline malate is supplied in the form of 10 ml oral ampoules, prescribed
at the dose of 3 per day for two weeks. The active ingredients are DL-malic
acid and L-Citrulline (20g/100 ml). The cohort treated in this double blind
study trial included 39 patients of both genders with a mean age of around
66 years. Dosage composed of 6 grams daily for 2 weeks. Fatigue in these
patients was very markedly improved by Stimol®. Evidence was found of
a statistically significant (P<.02) difference between the two groups
with a 75% success rate for the active substance compared to 36.8% effectiveness
for the placebo.
Evaluation of Stimol® In The Treatment Of Surgical Patient Fatigue
J. Taillade, Biocodex Laboratories, Paris France
Whatever the operation involved, surgery puts a patient under considerable
stress: There is an element of psychological assault, with anguish, distress
and insomnia, but there is also the physical assault of the act of surgery
itself and the specific illness surrounding it, which is distinct from the
underlying pathology being treated. Thus “the fact that a patient is tired
after surgery, and that his or her tiredness is proportional to the surgery
he or she has undergone, has long been accepted by the general public, and
indeed is the justification invoked for post-operative rest.” There may be
many causes of post-operative fatigue, but it is certain that the stress
involved produces an increased and profound disturbance in catabolism: thus
abnormalities in glucose breakdown have been demonstrated after surgery,
with an accumulation of toxic metabolites such as pyruvate and lactate. Citrulline
malate (Stimol®) is indicated in the treatment of physical fatigue, based
on evidence from a number of studies, including several controlled trials.
Malate conditions the recycling of lactate and pyruvate, while taking part,
via its position in the tricarboxylic cycle, in the supply of immediately
available energy. The citrulline fraction takes part in the elimination of
the amino acid breakdown products of protein metabolism.
Activity of Citrulline Malate on Acid-Base Balance and Blood Ammonia and
Amino Acid Levels Study In The Animal And In Man A. Callis, B. Magnan de
Bornier, J.J. Serrano, H. Bellet, and R. Saumade
An experimental evaluation of citrulline malate (Stimol®) CAS 54940-97,
an antifatigue compound, was undertaken in man and in animal to study the
pharmacological activity of the substance at hepatic and renal level. In
man, the protocol involved a double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled
cross-over technique. The study in the animal was blind and placebo-controlled
with two randomized parallel groups. Results showed that citrulline malate
stimulates hepatic ureogenesis and favors the renal reabsorption of bicarbonates.
These metabolic actions had a protective effect against acidosis and ammonia
poisoning and explain the antifatigue properties of citrulline malate in
