The Study
Impact of 3-week citrulline supplementation on postprandial protein metabolism in malnourished older patients: The Ciproage randomized controlled trial.
This study gave some older people a supplement and others a fake one to see what happened. Because they were randomly assigned, we can guess the supplement might have caused the changes—but we’re not super sure because not everyone was hidden from knowing which one they got.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Older women who were malnourished took a daily amino acid supplement called citrulline for 3 weeks. Researchers checked if it helped them build muscle or lose fat.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 546 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Gaining over 1.5 kg of muscle and losing over 1 kg of fat in just 3 weeks is a large change for very frail older adults and could improve mobility and strength.
- 2Women who took citrulline gained 1.7 kg of lean mass and 1.1 kg of muscle in their arms and legs, and lost 1.3 kg of fat.
- 3The supplement did not change protein synthesis rates in the body or liver.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Clinical nutrition
Year
2018
Authors
O. Bouillanne, J. Melchior, C. Faure, M. Paul, Florence Canouï-Poitrine, Y. Boirie, D. Chevenne, C. Forasassi, E. Guery, S. Herbaud, P. Le Corvoisier, N. Neveux, V. Nivet-Antoine, A. Astier, A. Raynaud-Simon, S. Walrand, L. Cynober, C. Aussel
Related Content
Claims (3)
In malnourished adults aged 80 to 92, taking 10 grams of citrulline daily for 3 weeks resulted in higher systemic amino acid availability than taking a placebo with non-essential amino acids, as measured by greater differences in amino acid levels between fed and postabsorptive states.
In older women with malnutrition, taking 10 grams of citrulline daily for 3 weeks resulted in an average increase of 1.7 kilograms in lean mass and 1.1 kilograms in arm and leg muscle mass, along with an average loss of 1.3 kilograms in fat mass.
In malnourished adults aged 80 to 92, taking 10 grams of citrulline daily for 3 weeks had no measurable effect on protein synthesis in the whole body or the liver, compared to a placebo with the same amount of nitrogen from non-essential amino acids.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.