Journal of Exercise Physiology in Special Populations

Changes in agility, speed, and fatigue index after seven days of L-arginine and L-citrulline supplementation in young soccer players

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Faculty of sport sciences, University of Damghan, Damghan, Iran

2 Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Imam Khomeini International University, Ghazvin, Iran

3 Department of Sport Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Buinzahra Branch, Buinzahra, Iran

4 Faculty of Social Sciences, Imam Khomeini International University, Ghazvin, Iran

Abstract

Introduction:

Considering separate effects of L-arginine and L-citrulline, it is possible that a combined dose of these two supplements may have an additive effect on athletic performance, therefore, the purpose of this study is to changes in agility, speed, and fatigue index after seven days of use L-arginine and L-citrulline supplementation in young soccer players.

Materials and Methods:

Sixty men aged 18-30 years were randomly divided into four groups (15 each): placebo, L-arginine, L-citrulline, and L-arginine+L-citrulline. For seven days, L-arginine supplement 2.4 g, L-citrulline supplement 2.4 g, and combination (L-arginine+L-citrulline) 1.2 g each were consumed daily. Before and after taking the supplements, agility index was measured by the 9×4 test, 45-meter record speed, and fatigue index was measured by the RAST test. Data comparison was performed using analysis of repeated variance with Bonferroni post hoc test using SPSS version 24,(P≥0.05)

Results:

After seven days of supplementation in the three receiving groups, significant improvements were observed in all three indexes in the pre- and post-test comparison. Also, in the inter-group comparison, the supplement groups had a significant difference compared to the placebo group, and this difference was also significant in the combined supplement group (L-arginine + L-citrulline) compared to the two L-arginine and L-citrulline groups (P≥0.05).



Conclusion:

It seems that seven-day consumption of L-arginine and L-citrulline supplements has an effect on improving agility records, speed, and fatigue index of young male soccer players, so that with simultaneous consumption of these two supplements, a synergistic effect on improving these indices was observed.

Keywords

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Journal of Exercise Physiology in Special Populations
Volume 2, Issue 4
March 2026
Pages 1-15