Evidence map›Paper›PMID 18173841›Full record

ArticleNutrition & metabolism2008

Effects of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) on exercise performance and body composition across varying levels of age, sex, and training experience: A review.

Gabriel J Wilson, Jacob M Wilson, Anssi H Manninen

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nutrition & metabolism, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04001907 (Effects of β-hydroxy-β-methyl Butyrate Supplementation and Resistance Exercise on Body Composition, Muscle Strength and Protein Oxidation in Sickle Cell Anaemia.), which is not on this map. Cited by 73 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
73citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT04001907 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2013, after this paper: background citation

Effects of β-hydroxy-β-methyl Butyrate Supplementation and Resistance Exercise on Body Composition, Muscle Strength and Protein Oxidation in Sickle Cell Anaemia.

TypeinterventionalSponsorThe University of The West IndiesRan2013 to 2019Enrolled24ConditionsSickle Cell AnemiaArmsResistance exercise, β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate, placebo
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

73 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Frontiers in nutrition · 2025
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13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Gabriel J WilsonDivision of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA. gwilson@abcbodybuilding.com.
Jacob M Wilson
Anssi H Manninen

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The leucine metabolite beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) has been extensively used as an ergogenic aid; particularly among bodybuilders and strength/power athletes, who use it to promote exercise performance and skeletal muscle hypertrophy. While numerous studies have supported the efficacy of HMB in exercise and clinical conditions, there have been a number of conflicting results. Therefore, the first purpose of this paper will be to provide an in depth and objective analysis of HMB research. Special care is taken to present critical details of each study in an attempt to both examine the effectiveness of HMB as well as explain possible reasons for conflicting results seen in the literature. Within this analysis, moderator variables such as age, training experience, various states of muscle catabolism, and optimal dosages of HMB are discussed. The validity of dependent measurements, clustering of data, and a conflict of interest bias will also be analyzed. A second purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive discussion on possible mechanisms, which HMB may operate through. Currently, the most readily discussed mechanism has been attributed to HMB as a precursor to the rate limiting enzyme to cholesterol synthesis HMG-coenzyme A reductase. However, an increase in research has been directed towards possible proteolytic pathways HMB may operate through. Evidence from cachectic cancer studies suggests that HMB may inhibit the ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic pathway responsible for the specific degradation of intracellular proteins. HMB may also directly stimulate protein synthesis, through an mTOR dependent mechanism. Finally, special care has been taken to provide future research implications.

Identifiers

PMID18173841
PMCPMC2245953

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.