Muscle recovery and myofibrillar protein synthesis after damaging exercise with recombinant bovine β-lactoglobulin, dairy-derived whey or carbohydrate supplementation in young healthy adults.
Rogers, Lucy M Korzepa, Marie Belfield, Archie E Quinlan, Jonathan I Wallis, Gareth A Breen, Leigh
Rogers, Lucy M
Korzepa, Marie
Belfield, Archie E
Quinlan, Jonathan I
Wallis, Gareth A
Breen, Leigh
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Supplementation with recombinant bovine β-lactoglobulin (rBLG), a precision-engineered mimetic of dairy-derived whey, supports similar resistance exercise (RE) training-induced muscle remodeling to whey protein (WHEY). However, the influence of rBLG on recovery indices and muscle protein synthesis rates after damaging exercise is unknown.
OBJECTIVES: To determine the influence of rBLG supplementation on indices of muscle recovery and integrated myofibrillar protein synthesis (iMyoPS) over 72 h following damaging RE, compared with WHEY and a carbohydrate placebo.
METHODS: In a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group design, 27 healthy adults consuming a controlled diet (∼0.9 g/kg body mass/d of protein) were supplemented thrice daily with 0.3 g/kg body mass of rBLG, WHEY, or isocaloric carbohydrate placebo for 3 d following an acute bout of damaging lower-body RE (8 × 10 maximal, unilateral, eccentric knee extensions). Consumption of deuterated water combined with serial vastus lateralis muscle biopsies permitted the measurement of iMyoPS 72 h before (habitual) and after RE. Knee extensor maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), muscle soreness, and plasma concentrations of creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were also assessed post-RE to characterize muscle recovery.
RESULTS: iMyoPS fractional synthetic rate (%/d) increased following damaging RE (P < 0.001), with no significant differences between groups. Knee extensor MVC decreased, and subjective muscle soreness and plasma LDH concentrations increased following strenuous exercise (P < 0.05 for all) with no significant differences between groups.
CONCLUSIONS: At habitual dietary protein intakes ∼0.9 g/kg body mass/d, further rBLG or WHEY supplementation did not influence muscle recovery or iMyoPS rates, suggesting that protein supplementation, at the intakes studied, may have limited efficacy as a tool to enhance muscle recovery and remodeling from damaging exercise.
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Date
2026-01-05
Type
Article
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Citation
Rogers LM, Korzepa M, Belfield AE, Quinlan JI, Wallis GA, Breen L. Muscle Recovery and Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis after Damaging Exercise with Recombinant Bovine β-Lactoglobulin, Dairy-Derived Whey or Carbohydrate Supplementation in Young Healthy Adults. J Nutr. 2026 May;156(5):101321. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.101321. Epub 2026 Jan 5.