WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF D-RIBOSE?
The supplement D-ribose was originally touted as the "new creatine". However, such advertising claims could not be substantiated due to a lack of experimental and empirical data from the bodybuilding and strength training sectors. An abstract (an "abstract" is the short summary of a scientific study) provides new evidence regarding the effectiveness of D-ribose in short, high-intensity, anaerobic exercise, as is typical in strength training.
The study investigated whether D-RIBOSE SUPPLEMENTATION accelerates ATP resynthesis in the muscles after intense exercise. Adenosine triphosphate is the cell's main energy supplier during short periods of exertion. This would, similar to creatine, lead to a faster recovery of the cellular energy stores in the form of ATP between the individual repetitions of a set in bodybuilding, between sets in training and after the training session.
For this, 6 trained cyclists and triathletes were subjected to maximum 10-second bicycle ergometer sprints. This regimen was carried out twice a day for 7 days. After this strenuous week, the subjects were given 50 mg/kg body weight D-ribose in 500 ml of water (corresponding to 5 g for 100 kg body weight) or a placebo for 72 hours. Muscle biopsies (samples of muscle tissue) were taken before the week of exercise, 5 hours and 72 hours after the last bicycle ergometer session and the content of ATP and adenine nucleotides (the building blocks for ATP, which are produced from ribose, among other things) was determined.
RESULT
THE RESULTS - 5 HOURS AFTER THE LAST EXERCISE - SHOWED THAT THE PLACEBO GROUP HAD A 24% DECREASE IN MUSCLE ATP AND ADENINE NUCLEOTIDES OF 17%. 72 HOURS LATER, MUSCLE ATP LEVELS WERE STILL 22% DECREASE. IN THE D-RIBOSE GROUP, LEVELS WERE SIMILARLY LOW 5 HOURS AFTER THE EXERCISE BUT HAD FULLY RECOVERED TO PRE-EXERCISE LEVELS 72 HOURS LATER.
These data indicate that the cellular energy stores in the form of ATP in the stressed muscles are reduced after an intensive anaerobic exercise, as is typical in bodybuilding. Supplementation with D-ribose could RECOVERY OF ATP STORAGE can actually be accelerated, as the study results show. However, D-ribose is very expensive, which is why its use does not come close to the popularity of creatine - as a relatively inexpensive substance.
However, the combination of D-ribose with creatine could lead to even better results than is possible with creatine alone. Since both substances are very similar in their effects, there is a SYNERGY EFFECT close (= ie both substances are more effective than each administered separately).