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Co‐ingesting whey protein with dual‐source carbohydrate enhances amino acid availability without compromising post‐exercise liver glycogen resynthesis

Sophie C. Hannon Orcid Logo, James McStravick Orcid Logo, Libby Henthorn, Stephen Bawden, Jonathan C. Y. Tang Orcid Logo, Rachel Dunn, Ryosuke Makino Orcid Logo, Kenneth Smith Orcid Logo, Javier T. Gonzalez, Nathan Hodson, James P. Morton Orcid Logo, Aneurin J. Kennerley Orcid Logo, Mark A. Hearris Orcid Logo

The Journal of Physiology

Swansea University Author: Stephen Bawden

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DOI (Published version): 10.1113/jp288473

Abstract

We examined the effects of ingesting maltodextrin and/or fructose with protein co‐ingestion on post‐exercise liver and muscle glycogen resynthesis. Following glycogen‐depleting exercise, 10 well‐trained male cyclists ingested 60 g h−1 carbohydrate from either maltodextrin (MAL), fructose (FRU), 1:1...

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Published in: The Journal of Physiology
ISSN: 0022-3751 1469-7793
Published: Wiley 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69941
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Following glycogen&#x2010;depleting exercise, 10 well&#x2010;trained male cyclists ingested 60 g h&#x2212;1 carbohydrate from either maltodextrin (MAL), fructose (FRU), 1:1 ratio of maltodextrin + fructose (MF) or 1:1 ratio of maltodextrin + fructose plus 30 g whey protein at 0 and 180 min (PRO) during a 5 h recovery period. 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging were performed at 0, 120 and 300 min following exercise to determine liver and muscle glycogen concentrations and liver volume. Protein co&#x2010;ingestion resulted in elevated serum insulin and plasma glucagon compared with FRU and MF (P &lt; 0.001 for all). Similarly, serum insulin and plasma glucagon concentrations were markedly higher with MAL when compared with both FRU and MF (P &lt; 0.05 for all), although plasma glucagon was also higher when compared with PRO (P &lt; 0.001). Liver glycogen concentrations were significantly higher with FRU (275 &#xB1; 49 mmol L&#x2212;1), MF (255 &#xB1; 50 mmol L&#x2212;1) and PRO (283 &#xB1; 50 mmol L&#x2212;1) compared with MAL (204 &#xB1; 51 mmol L&#x2212;1) (P &lt; 0.05 for all) following 5 h of recovery. However, muscle glycogen concentrations (mmol L&#x2212;1: MAL, 168 &#xB1; 33; FRU, 145 &#xB1; 32; MF, 151 &#xB1; 33; PRO 153 &#xB1; 33) were not different between trials (P &gt; 0.05). We conclude that, despite enhancing glucagonaemia, co&#x2010;ingestion of whey protein (to a 1:1 combination of maltodextrin and fructose) does not compromise post&#x2010;exercise liver glycogen resynthesis, allowing for increased aminoacidaemia alongside rapid glycogen resynthesis. image Key points: Endurance athletes commonly co&#x2010;ingest carbohydrate and protein within the post&#x2010;exercise recovery period to facilitate rapid glycogen repletion and muscle remodelling. 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spelling 2026-01-27T11:36:39.5910267 v2 69941 2025-07-10 Co‐ingesting whey protein with dual‐source carbohydrate enhances amino acid availability without compromising post‐exercise liver glycogen resynthesis 592eebfd572257940e8ed8b2bf94be72 Stephen Bawden Stephen Bawden true false 2025-07-10 We examined the effects of ingesting maltodextrin and/or fructose with protein co‐ingestion on post‐exercise liver and muscle glycogen resynthesis. Following glycogen‐depleting exercise, 10 well‐trained male cyclists ingested 60 g h−1 carbohydrate from either maltodextrin (MAL), fructose (FRU), 1:1 ratio of maltodextrin + fructose (MF) or 1:1 ratio of maltodextrin + fructose plus 30 g whey protein at 0 and 180 min (PRO) during a 5 h recovery period. 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging were performed at 0, 120 and 300 min following exercise to determine liver and muscle glycogen concentrations and liver volume. Protein co‐ingestion resulted in elevated serum insulin and plasma glucagon compared with FRU and MF (P < 0.001 for all). Similarly, serum insulin and plasma glucagon concentrations were markedly higher with MAL when compared with both FRU and MF (P < 0.05 for all), although plasma glucagon was also higher when compared with PRO (P < 0.001). Liver glycogen concentrations were significantly higher with FRU (275 ± 49 mmol L−1), MF (255 ± 50 mmol L−1) and PRO (283 ± 50 mmol L−1) compared with MAL (204 ± 51 mmol L−1) (P < 0.05 for all) following 5 h of recovery. However, muscle glycogen concentrations (mmol L−1: MAL, 168 ± 33; FRU, 145 ± 32; MF, 151 ± 33; PRO 153 ± 33) were not different between trials (P > 0.05). We conclude that, despite enhancing glucagonaemia, co‐ingestion of whey protein (to a 1:1 combination of maltodextrin and fructose) does not compromise post‐exercise liver glycogen resynthesis, allowing for increased aminoacidaemia alongside rapid glycogen resynthesis. image Key points: Endurance athletes commonly co‐ingest carbohydrate and protein within the post‐exercise recovery period to facilitate rapid glycogen repletion and muscle remodelling. Here we report that the ingestion of dual‐source carbohydrate (a 1:1 ratio of maltodextrin and fructose) enhances liver glycogen repletion when compared with maltodextrin alone. Co‐ingesting whey protein alongside this dual‐source carbohydrate enhanced amino acid availability without compromising liver glycogen resynthesis, despite enhanced glucagonaemia. These data demonstrate that the co‐ingestion of whey protein with dual‐source carbohydrate provides a practical strategy to enhance amino acid availability (which provides an important substrate for post‐exercise muscle remodelling) and rapid glycogen resynthesis. Journal Article The Journal of Physiology 0 Wiley 0022-3751 1469-7793 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy, glycogen, liver, protein, recovery 9 7 2025 2025-07-09 10.1113/jp288473 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee This study was funded by a research grant from Science in Sport (SiS) PLC. 2026-01-27T11:36:39.5910267 2025-07-10T13:49:49.7872535 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Swansea University Medical School - Biomedical Science Sophie C. Hannon 0000-0001-5835-0271 1 James McStravick 0000-0001-6067-9893 2 Libby Henthorn 3 Stephen Bawden 4 Jonathan C. Y. Tang 0000-0001-6305-6333 5 Rachel Dunn 6 Ryosuke Makino 0000-0001-7549-2159 7 Kenneth Smith 0000-0001-8971-6635 8 Javier T. Gonzalez 9 Nathan Hodson 10 James P. Morton 0000-0003-2776-2542 11 Aneurin J. Kennerley 0000-0002-7599-7461 12 Mark A. Hearris 0000-0003-4909-6755 13 69941__34734__98bf15ba8d3949d7a7bfbf29a9b7310a.pdf JP288473.pdf 2025-07-10T13:49:49.7587534 Output 1848336 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 The Author(s). The Journal of Physiology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Physiological Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Co‐ingesting whey protein with dual‐source carbohydrate enhances amino acid availability without compromising post‐exercise liver glycogen resynthesis
spellingShingle Co‐ingesting whey protein with dual‐source carbohydrate enhances amino acid availability without compromising post‐exercise liver glycogen resynthesis
Stephen Bawden
title_short Co‐ingesting whey protein with dual‐source carbohydrate enhances amino acid availability without compromising post‐exercise liver glycogen resynthesis
title_full Co‐ingesting whey protein with dual‐source carbohydrate enhances amino acid availability without compromising post‐exercise liver glycogen resynthesis
title_fullStr Co‐ingesting whey protein with dual‐source carbohydrate enhances amino acid availability without compromising post‐exercise liver glycogen resynthesis
title_full_unstemmed Co‐ingesting whey protein with dual‐source carbohydrate enhances amino acid availability without compromising post‐exercise liver glycogen resynthesis
title_sort Co‐ingesting whey protein with dual‐source carbohydrate enhances amino acid availability without compromising post‐exercise liver glycogen resynthesis
author_id_str_mv 592eebfd572257940e8ed8b2bf94be72
author_id_fullname_str_mv 592eebfd572257940e8ed8b2bf94be72_***_Stephen Bawden
author Stephen Bawden
author2 Sophie C. Hannon
James McStravick
Libby Henthorn
Stephen Bawden
Jonathan C. Y. Tang
Rachel Dunn
Ryosuke Makino
Kenneth Smith
Javier T. Gonzalez
Nathan Hodson
James P. Morton
Aneurin J. Kennerley
Mark A. Hearris
format Journal article
container_title The Journal of Physiology
container_volume 0
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 0022-3751
1469-7793
doi_str_mv 10.1113/jp288473
publisher Wiley
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str Swansea University Medical School - Biomedical Science{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}Swansea University Medical School - Biomedical Science
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description We examined the effects of ingesting maltodextrin and/or fructose with protein co‐ingestion on post‐exercise liver and muscle glycogen resynthesis. Following glycogen‐depleting exercise, 10 well‐trained male cyclists ingested 60 g h−1 carbohydrate from either maltodextrin (MAL), fructose (FRU), 1:1 ratio of maltodextrin + fructose (MF) or 1:1 ratio of maltodextrin + fructose plus 30 g whey protein at 0 and 180 min (PRO) during a 5 h recovery period. 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging were performed at 0, 120 and 300 min following exercise to determine liver and muscle glycogen concentrations and liver volume. Protein co‐ingestion resulted in elevated serum insulin and plasma glucagon compared with FRU and MF (P < 0.001 for all). Similarly, serum insulin and plasma glucagon concentrations were markedly higher with MAL when compared with both FRU and MF (P < 0.05 for all), although plasma glucagon was also higher when compared with PRO (P < 0.001). Liver glycogen concentrations were significantly higher with FRU (275 ± 49 mmol L−1), MF (255 ± 50 mmol L−1) and PRO (283 ± 50 mmol L−1) compared with MAL (204 ± 51 mmol L−1) (P < 0.05 for all) following 5 h of recovery. However, muscle glycogen concentrations (mmol L−1: MAL, 168 ± 33; FRU, 145 ± 32; MF, 151 ± 33; PRO 153 ± 33) were not different between trials (P > 0.05). We conclude that, despite enhancing glucagonaemia, co‐ingestion of whey protein (to a 1:1 combination of maltodextrin and fructose) does not compromise post‐exercise liver glycogen resynthesis, allowing for increased aminoacidaemia alongside rapid glycogen resynthesis. image Key points: Endurance athletes commonly co‐ingest carbohydrate and protein within the post‐exercise recovery period to facilitate rapid glycogen repletion and muscle remodelling. Here we report that the ingestion of dual‐source carbohydrate (a 1:1 ratio of maltodextrin and fructose) enhances liver glycogen repletion when compared with maltodextrin alone. Co‐ingesting whey protein alongside this dual‐source carbohydrate enhanced amino acid availability without compromising liver glycogen resynthesis, despite enhanced glucagonaemia. These data demonstrate that the co‐ingestion of whey protein with dual‐source carbohydrate provides a practical strategy to enhance amino acid availability (which provides an important substrate for post‐exercise muscle remodelling) and rapid glycogen resynthesis.
published_date 2025-07-09T06:55:20Z
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score 11.098602

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