Oral taurine improves critical power and severe intensity exercise tolerance

This study investigated the effects of acute oral taurine ingestion on: i) the power-time relationship using the three-min all-out test (3MAOT); ii) time to exhaustion (TTE) 5% > critical power (CP) and iii) the estimated time to complete (Tlim) a range of fixed target intensities. Twelve males completed a baseline 3MAOT test on a cycle ergometer. Following this, a double-blind, randomized cross-over design was followed, where participants were allocated to one of four conditions, separated by 72-h: TTE + taurine; TTE + placebo; 3MAOT + taurine; 3MAOT + placebo. Taurine was provided at 50 mg·kg-1, whilst the placebo was 3 mg·kg-1 maltodextrin. CP was higher (P < 0.05) in taurine (212 ± 36 W) than baseline (197 ± 40 W) and placebo (193 ± 35 W). Work end power was not affected by supplement (P > 0.05), yet TTE 5% > CP increased (P < 0.05) by 1.7-min after taurine (17.7-min) compared to placebo (16.0-min) and there were higher (P < 0.001) estimated Tlim across all work targets. Acute supplementation of 50 mg·kg-1 of taurine improved CP and estimated performance at a range of severe work intensities. Oral taurine can be taken prior to exercise to enhance endurance performance.