Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24716994›Full record

ArticleJournal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition2014

β-alanine supplementation improves tactical performance but not cognitive function in combat soldiers.

Jay R Hoffman, Geva Landau, Jeffrey R Stout, Matan Dabora, Daniel S Moran, Nurit Sharvit, Mattan W Hoffman, Yuval Ben Moshe, William P McCormack, Gil Hirschhorn and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.4field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
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  5. Carnosine supplementation improves cognitive outcomes in younger participants of the NEAT trial.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2025
    Trial
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  11. Review
  12. International society of sports nutrition position stand: tactical athlete nutrition.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2022
    Article
  13. Review
  14. Monitoring Neuromuscular Performance in Military Personnel.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020
    Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. International society of sports nutrition position stand: Beta-Alanine.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2015
    Review
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

11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Jay R HoffmanInstitute of Exercise Physiology and Wellness, Sport and Exercise Science, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA. jay.hoffman@ucf.edu.
Geva Landau
Jeffrey R Stout
Matan Dabora
Daniel S Moran
Nurit Sharvit
Mattan W Hoffman
Yuval Ben Moshe
William P McCormack
Gil Hirschhorn
Ishay Ostfeld
Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps · ILUniversity of Central Florida · USAriel University · IL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere are no known studies that have examined β-alanine supplementation in military personnel. Considering the physiological and potential neurological effects that have been reported during sustained military operations, it appears that β-alanine supplementation may have a potential benefit in maintaining physical and cognitive performance during high-intensity military activity under stressful conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of 28 days of β-alanine ingestion in military personnel while fatigued on physical and cognitive performance.

methodsTwenty soldiers (20.1 ± 0.9 years) from an elite combat unit were randomly assigned to either a β-alanine (BA) or placebo (PL) group. Soldiers were involved in advanced military training, including combat skill development, navigational training, self-defense/hand-to-hand combat and conditioning. All participants performed a 4-km run, 5-countermovement jumps using a linear position transducer, 120-m sprint, a 10-shot shooting protocol with assault rifle, including overcoming a misfire, and a 2-min serial subtraction test to assess cognitive function before (Pre) and after (Post) 28 days of supplementation.

resultsThe training routine resulted in significant increases in 4-km run time for both groups, but no between group differences were seen (p = 0.597). Peak jump power at Post was greater for BA than PL (p = 0.034), while mean jump power for BA at Post was 10.2% greater (p = 0.139) than PL. BA had a significantly greater (p = 0.012) number of shots on target at Post (8.2 ± 1.0) than PL (6.5 ± 2.1), and their target engagement speed at Post was also significantly faster (p = 0.039). No difference in serial subtraction performance was seen between the groups (p = 0.844).

conclusionResults of this study indicate that 4-weeks of β-alanine ingestion in young, healthy soldiers did not impact cognitive performance, but did enhance power performance, marksmanship and target engagement speed from pre-ingestion levels.

Identifiers

PMID24716994
PMCPMC3983672
OpenAlexW2137069345

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.