Clay Metz

Mrs. Bowman

SNT 161 02

Research Paper

21 March 2020

The Effect of Leucine-Enriched Branch Chain Amino Acids on Athletes

I chose this topic due to it being a subject for which I had no knowledge at all. It

interested me due to the fact that I am always hearing about branch chain amino acids (BCAAs),

but I have never heard of leucine or its effects and benefits. Leucine itself is an essential amino

acid, but a standard branch chain amino acid enriched with additional leucine may have more

benefits than a standard leucine supplement (LEU). There are three branch chain amino acids,

and among them leucine is the most widely regarded as the best BCAA in terms of muscle

recovery and healing after workouts and exercise. Leucine relieves symptoms of muscle damage

caused by exercise as well.

Before researching the specific benefits and effects on leucine enrichment, it’s important

to know about branch chain amino acids in general. There are three BCAAs, leucine, isoleucine,

and valine. These three amino acids are put together because they are the only amino acids to

have a chain to branch off to one side. “BCAAs make up a large chunk of the body's total amino

acid pool. Together, they represent around 35–40% of all essential amino acids present in your

body and 14–18% of those found in your muscles. Contrary to most other amino acids, BCAAs

are mostly broken down in the muscle, rather than in the liver. Because of this, they are thought

to play a role in energy production during exercise” (Petre).

the biggest impact on the body’s ability to build muscle proteins. The other two branch chain

amino acids, isoleucine and valine are better at regulating blood sugar levels and providing

energy for the body. Overall, all three of the BCAA’s together can reduce mental and physical

fatigue during exercise. “Studies in human participants report up to 15% less fatigue in those

given BCAAs during exercise, compared to those who were given a placebo. In one study, this

increased resistance to fatigue helped the BCAA group exercise for 17% longer before reaching

exhaustion, compared to the placebo group. In another study, participants were put under heat

stress during a cycling test. They were asked to ingest either a drink containing BCAAs or a

placebo. Those who drank the BCAA drink cycled for 12% longer than the placebo group”

(Petre). As one can see from this evidence, branch chain amino acids are beneficial for people of

all lifestyles and workout regimens. BCAAs can benefit any person from a collegiate athlete to a

person in their middle ages just trying to get into better shape.

Another benefit of branch chain amino acids is the reduction of muscle soreness. BCAAs

do this by reducing the blood levels of the creatine, kinase, and lactate dehydrogenase enzymes.

“Participants who were given BCAA supplements rated their muscle soreness levels as much as

33% lower than those given a placebo. In some cases, those given BCAAs also performed up to

20% better when they repeated the same strength-training tests 24–48 hours later. However,

effects may vary based on your gender or the total protein content of your diet” (Petre). Based on

these findings, the benefit of BCAAs reducing muscle soreness may not be apparent for

everyone, and can depend on variables one can’t control, such as gender. Although changing a

regular diet is possible and controllable in a way, it can be extremely difficult for anybody, as
protein content would need to be changed to feel the benefits of the BCAAs in reducing of

muscle soreness.

BCAAs have other benefits such as increasing muscle mass, lowering blood sugar levels,

and enhancing weight loss, but what about leucine specifically? In a test conducted to see if there

was any additional benefit of leucine enriched BCAAs over standard leucine supplements, a

substance with a 4:1:1 ratio of leucine to valine to isoleucine (LBCAA) was compared to a

substance with a 2:1:1 ratio of leucine to valine to isoleucine (BCAA). The leucine-enriched

(LBCAA) substance was found to have no additional benefits or advantages over the standard

BCAA combination. Both substances worked the same in regards to post-exercise muscle

recovery.

However, in a different test, the results differ greatly. In this test, when a mixture of

essential amino acids (EAAs) were enriched with additional leucine enrichment. This specific

study was done with leucine enriched essential amino acids and a placebo. The process is stated

in the abstract. “The aim of this study was to determine whether the consumption of a

leucine-enriched essential amino acid mixture (LEAA), which is known to increase protein

synthesis in muscles, alleviates muscle damage and accelerates recovery by ameliorating muscle

damage. [Participants and Methods] A double-blind, randomized crossover trial was conducted

over a 5-week period. Ten untrained males (age, 23.0 ± 1.6 years) were asked to repeatedly flex

and extend their elbows for 10 counts/set × 5 sets at full power while using a dynamometer. The

participants took 3.6-g supplements (LEAA mixture or placebo) 3 times daily on day 0 and for

the next 7 days. Changes in serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK) activity and myoglobin

concentration as markers of muscle tissue damage were evaluated prior to and after exercise and
on days 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7” (Matsui). After the experiment was conducted, the results were found

and a conclusion was made. “LEAA consumption suppressed exercise-induced elevation of

muscle damage markers in blood, which suggests that LEAA could attenuate muscle damage and

aid muscle recovery” (Matsui).

After reading through my sources and doing my research, I believe additional leucine can

be beneficial to some people in some circumstances. When branch chain amino acids were

enriched with additional leucine, there seemed to be no additional benefits from the added

leucine. However, when another mixture of essential amino acids was enriched with additional

leucine (LEAA), participants in the test experienced relief from post-exercise muscle soreness.

With leucine being one of the three branch chain amino acids, it is obviously good for you, but

when BCAAs are added with more leucine than needed, there isn’t any additional benefits.

However, adding leucine to certain mixtures can be good for anyone, and promote muscle

recovery and healing after workouts, no matter how intense or strenuous the workout may be.

Overall, there’s no doubt that leucine is beneficial, but too much of it may not yield the

results people are looking for. When added to BCAAs, the additional leucine will not offer any

more benefits, but when added to essential amino acids, which are a mixture of nine different

amino acids instead of the three a BCAA mixture includes, the benefits of additional leucine are

shown. I believe additional leucine benefits people when added to an essential amino acid

mixture rather than a branch chain amino acid mixture due to the fact that there is less leucine in

the EAA mixture. Since the BCAA mixture only includes leucine and two other amino acids,

there must be a higher amount of leucine. Like protein, one can only have a certain amount of

leucine in a supplement for it to be beneficial, taking too much doesn’t offer any benefits.
 Works Cited

- Osmond, Adam & Directo, Dean & Elam, Marcus & Juache, Gabriela & Kreipke, Vince &

Saralegui, Desiree & Wildman, Robert & Wong, Michael & Jo, Edward. (2019). The

Effects of Leucine-Enriched Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation on Recovery

After High-Intensity Resistance Exercise. International journal of sports physiology and

performance. 14. 1-25. 10.1123/ijspp.2018-0579.

-Matsui, Yasushi, et al. “Effect of a Leucine-Enriched Essential Amino Acids Mixture on Muscle

Recovery.” Journal of Physical Therapy Science, The Society of Physical Therapy

Science, Jan. 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6348179/.

-Petre, Alina. “BCAA Benefits: A Review of Branched-Chain Amino Acids.”

Healthline, 25 Nov. 2016, www.healthline.com/nutrition/bcaa.