Effects of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) intake in combination with exercise on muscle strength in humans with decreased mobility: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study | Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer Open Menu Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Home Food Science Publisher Functional Food Center Current Archives About About the Journal Aims and Scope Contact Editing Services Editorial Team Express Peer Review Graphical Abstract Journal Insights Privacy Statement Submissions Announcements Search Search Register Login Home / Archives / Vol. 14 No. 4 (2024): April 2024 / Research Articles Effects of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) intake in combination with exercise on muscle strength in humans with decreased mobility: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study Authors Eriko Uehara Sanwa Shurui Co., Ltd. Hideki Hokazono Akihito Tomonaga Mitsuhiko Fukagawa DOI: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i4.1334 Abstract Background: Aging-related declines in skeletal muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical function are related to instability, falls, and frailty in older people, resulting in the need for nursing care. Objective: To investigate the effect of oral γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) intake and exercise on muscle parameters in healthy subjects whose muscle strength is beginning to decline with age. Methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group comparative study was conducted. Fifty subjects (over 40 years old) were randomly divided into the GABA (100 mg/day) or placebo food intake group. Subjects orally consumed the respective study substance every day for 12 weeks. They performed daily “locomotion training” as devised by the Japanese Orthopedic Society. Muscle mass, fat mass, and knee extension muscle strength were measured. Results: The two groups had no significant differences in muscle and fat mass. Compared to the placebo food group, the GABA group exhibited a significant increase in muscle strength for the stronger leg (either left or right) during pre-dose Week 0 (p = 0.02 at Week 6). In post hoc subgroup analysis by sex, when compared with the placebo food intake group, the GABA food intake group showed significant improvement in knee extension muscle strength of the right leg at Weeks 6 (p = 0.001) and 12 (p = 0.007), the left leg at Week 6 (p = 0.02), the stronger of the left and right legs at pre-dose Week 0 (at Week 6, p = 0.001), and the weaker of the left and right legs at pre-dose Week 0 (at Week 12, p = 0.013) in males. Conclusions: These results suggest that GABA intake combined with daily exercise is effective for maintaining knee extension muscle strength, which decreases with age. Furthermore, there were no safety issues with the intake of GABA-containing food during this study. Trial registration: UMIN-CTR: UMIN000050152. Keywords: γ-Aminobutyric acid, GABA, Muscle mass, Knee extension muscle strength, Aging Downloads [Abstract] [Full Article] Published 2024-04-13 Issue Vol. 14 No. 4 (2024): April 2024 Section Research Articles License Copyright (c) 2024 Functional Foods in Health and Disease This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the Functional Food Center (FFC) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. Authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. By submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. The Functional Food Center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. About the Journal      Editing Services      Graphical Abstract      Journal Insights        Submissions        Editorial Team       Privacy Statement        Contact        Current        Archives   Open Journal Systems Hosting and Support by: OpenJournalSystems.com