Acute effect of different doses of caffeinated chewing gum on exercise performance in caffeine-habituated male soccer players

Ulas Can Yildirim; Neslihan Akcay; Dan Iulian Alexe; Ozcan Esen; Mehmet Gulu; Cristina Cîrtiţă-Buzoianu; Fahri Safa Cinarli; Marilena Cojocaru; Cengizhan Sari; Cristina Ioana Alexe; Raci Karayigit

doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.1251740

Acute effect of different doses of caffeinated chewing gum on exercise performance in caffeine-habituated male soccer players

Front Nutr. 2023 Oct 18:10:1251740. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1251740. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Sport Sciences, Sinop University, Sinop, Türkiye.
² Hasan Doğan School of Physical Education and Sports, Karabük University, Karabük, Türkiye.
³ Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Movement, Sports and Health, Sciences, Vasile Alecsandri University of Bacau, Bacău, Romania.
⁴ Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
⁵ Faculty of Sport Sciences, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye.
⁶ Faculty of Letters, Communication and Public Relations Department, Vasile Alecsandri University of Bacau, Bacău, Romania.
⁷ Faculty of Sport Sciences, İnönü University, Malatya, Türkiye.
⁸ Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Spiru Haret University of Bucuresti, Bucharest, Romania.
⁹ Faculty of Sport Sciences, Mus Alparslan University, Mus, Türkiye.
¹⁰ Department of Physical Education and Sports Performance, Faculty of Movement, Sports and Health, Sciences, Vasile Alecsandri University of Bacau, Bacau, Romania.
¹¹ Faculty of Sport Sciences, Ankara University, Ankara, Türkiye.

Abstract

The ergogenic benefits of caffeine have been well established, but there is scarce research on its chewing gum form. The present research aimed to examine the effects of different doses (100 and 200 mg) of caffeinated chewing gum on muscle strength, vertical jump performance, and ball-kicking speed in trained male soccer players. In a double-blind, randomized counterbalanced, and crossover research design, 14 male soccer players (age = 22 ± 2 y; body mass = 74.2 ± 7.1 kg; height = 180.0 ± 6.8 cm; habitual caffeine intake = 358.9 ± 292.4 mg/day) participated in three experimental trials. In each trial, participants performed isometric handgrip strength, quadriceps and hamstring strength, ball-kicking speed, and 15 s countermovement jump test 10 min after chewing 100 mg (LCAF) or 200 mg (MCAF) of caffeinated gum or placebo (PLA). MCAF improved quadriceps strength (53.77 ± 5.77 kg) compared to LCAF (49.62 ± 8.81 kg, p = 0.048) and PLA (49.20 ± 7.20 kg, p = 0.032). However, neither LCAF nor MCAF had a significant effect on the isometric handgrip and hamstring strength, ball-kicking speed, and 15 s countermovement jump test (all p > 0.05). These findings support chewing gum as an alternative mode of caffeine administration which can be used as a nutritional ergogenic aid for trained soccer players, at least for quadriceps strength.

Keywords: ball kicking speed; ergogenic aid; gum; strength; team sports; vertical jump.