{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T18:54:42Z","timestamp":1773255282201,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]],"date-time":"2022-09-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1664236800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are oxidized in the muscle and result in stimulating anabolic signals\u2014which in return may optimize performance, body composition and recovery. Meanwhile, among athletes, the evidence about BCAA supplementation is not clear. The aim of this study was to review the effects of BCAAs in athletic populations. The research was conducted in three databases: Web of Science (all databases), PubMed and Scopus. The inclusion criteria involved participants classified both as athletes and people who train regularly, and who were orally supplemented with BCAAs. The risk of bias was individually assessed for each study using the revised Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2.0). From the 2298 records found, 24 studies met the inclusion criteria. Although BCAAs tended to activate anabolic signals, the benefits on performance and body composition were negligible. On the other hand, studies that included resistance participants showed that BCAAs attenuated muscle soreness after exercise, while in endurance sports the findings were inconsistent. The protocols of BCAA supplements differed considerably between studies. Moreover, most of the studies did not report the total protein intake across the day and, consequently, the benefits of BCAAs should be interpreted with caution.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu14194002","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,28]],"date-time":"2022-09-28T03:30:37Z","timestamp":1664335837000},"page":"4002","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":48,"title":["Oral Branched-Chain Amino Acids Supplementation in Athletes: A Systematic Review"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0825-4032","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Diogo V.","family":"Martinho","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Coimbra, Research Unit for Sport and Physical Activity, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, 3040-248 Coimbra, Portugal"},{"name":"Dietetics and Nutrition, Coimbra Health School, Polytechnic of Coimbra, 3046-854 Coimbra, Portugal"},{"name":"Laboratory for Applied Health Research (LabinSa\u00fade), 3046-854 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7951-8977","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hadi","family":"Nobari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiology, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10003 C\u00e1ceres, Spain"},{"name":"Department of Physical Education and Special Motricity, Faculty of Physical Education and Mountain Sports, Transilvania University of Bra\u015fov, 500068 Bra\u015fov, Romania"}]},{"given":"Ana","family":"Faria","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dietetics and Nutrition, Coimbra Health School, Polytechnic of Coimbra, 3046-854 Coimbra, Portugal"},{"name":"Laboratory for Applied Health Research (LabinSa\u00fade), 3046-854 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Adam","family":"Field","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK"}]},{"given":"Daniel","family":"Duarte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"N2i\u2014Polytechnic Institute of Maia, 4475-690 Maia, Portugal"},{"name":"CIDESD\u2014Maia University, 4475-690 Maia, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8681-0642","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hugo","family":"Sarmento","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Coimbra, Research Unit for Sport and Physical Activity, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, 3040-248 Coimbra, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1591S","DOI":"10.1093\/jn\/135.6.1591S","article-title":"Interrelationship between physical activity and branched-chain amino acids","volume":"135","author":"Gleeson","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. 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