Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the relationship between short-term intakes of Taurine. Amino Acid with neuromuscular fatigue and athletic performance after maximal athletic activity. To serve the purpose of this research, 20 professional squash players (all male, mean age of 25.1 +/- 12.24 years, height ratio of 63.4 +/- 59.174 cm, weight of 97.8 +/- 52.71 kg, BMI of 19.2 +/- 40.23 kg per square meter and body fat percentage of 21.1 +/- 81.11) volunteered and were divided to two random groups: supplement and placebo, experiencing maximal athletic activity before and after amino acid intake. Both the supplement and placebo (starch) groups were provided with apparently identical 1gram capsules. Volunteers were monitored to take 5 capsules per day for a week. Supplementation was double-blind, and the assistant researcher was the only one who knew about the real content of every capsule. Post-test was conducted immediately after the supplementation period was terminated under exactly the same conditions of pre-test. A paired t-test was organized to determine the changes in group-internal dependent variables prior and posterior to test, while an independent t-test was performed to observe differences in performance of the experimental and control volunteers. The significance level was set at p <0.05. The results showed that short-term supplementation of taurine amino acid is effective upon reducing neuromuscular fatigue (p=0.002), choice reaction time (p= 0.012) and blood lactate accumulation (p=0.000) after performing maximal athletic activity. The results in this research support the statement that the supplementation of taurine can be suggested to improve performance in fast alternative exercises.