Effects of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation on endurance exercise performance of pregnant rats

The present study evaluated the effects of BCAA supplementation on exercise performance of pregnant rats. 32 Wistar rats were divided into four groups: sedentary not-supplemented (SNS, n = 8); sedentary supplemented (SS, n = 8); trained not-supplemented (TNS, n = 8) and trained supplemented (TS, n = 8). All groups were submitted to the endurance test until exhaustion (ET) and post-effort lactate (PEL) determination before pregnancy (ET-B and PEL-B) and at the 19th day of pregnancy (ET-19 and PEL-19). The data presented herein suggest that BCAA supplementation plays an ergogenic role in the maintenance of exercise performance during pregnancy in rats.