Table 1.
Recently explored applications of exogenous ketone supplements in exercise and obesity using human and rodent models
| Supplement type | Model used | Main focus | Dose | Major finding/s | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KME | Trained Cyclists | Endurance performance | 573 mg/kg bw prior to exercise | Cyclists rode 400 m more on average in the 30 min time-trial following KME ingestion | (Cox et al. 2016) |
| KME | Wistar rats | Physical and cognitive performance | 2.5 g/d, equivalent to 11.7 g/kg bw/d | After 5d, rats ran 32% longer on a treadmill and completed a maze test 38% faster than control rats | (Murray et al. 2016) |
| KME | Trained male athletes | Post-exercise recovery | 615 mg/kg−1 bw | Facilitated glucose uptake by 32% which increased muscle glycogen content 50% more than control | (Holdsworth et al. 2017) |
| KME + CHO/PRO drink | Healthy trained males | Post-exercise recovery | 0.5 g/kg bw after exercise | Enhanced post-exercise activation of mTORC1 which increases protein synthesis in muscle cells | (Vandoorne et al. 2017) |
| Na d-3HB | Male ICR mice | Post-exercise recovery | In vitro incubation with 1, 2, or 4 mM of Na d-3HB | At the highest concentration, glycogen repletion was significantly increased 2 h after exercise, while 2 mM exhibited a tendency to increase glycogen repletion | (Takahashi et al. 2019) |
| KS from KetoForce | Healthy adult males | High intensity exercise | 0.3 g/kg bw at 30 min prior to cycling | Increased fat oxidation was observed but impaired performance in the 150 kJ time-trial | (O’Malley et al. 2017) |
| KS with caffeine and amino acids | Keto-naïve and KD-adapted adults | High-intensity exercise | 7 g d-3HB + 100 mg of caffeine (pre-workout) | Increased endurance in both groups where keto-adapted adults had a higher increase in the time-to-exhaustion (9.8% vs 8.3%) than keto-naïve adults | (Kackley et al. 2020) |
| Na/K d-3HB salt | Wistar rats | Weight loss and control of lipid profile | Oral gavage (acutely): 3 g/kg bw; chronically in drinking water at a concentration of 4.2% | Observed significant improvements in blood lipid profile by increasing HDL and reducing LDL/HDL ratio. Also observed decrease in adipocyte cell volume | (Caminhotto et al. 2017) |
| KME | Obese adults | Inhibition of NLRP3 activation in human monocytes | 482 mg/kg bw | Significant reduction in plasma IL-1β was evident 60 min after KME ingestion | (Neudorf et al. 2020) |
| BD-AcAc2 | Obese mice | Weight loss, energy expenditure, and adiposity | 252 g/kg bw formulated into high-fat diet | Increased resting energy expenditure was observed due to enhanced mitochondrial uncoupling and thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue | (Davis et al. 2019) |
KME, R-3-hydroxybutyl R-3-hydroxybutyrate monoester; BD-AcAc2, 1,3-butanediol diacetoacetate (ketone diester); KS, Sodium/Potassium d-3HB salt; KetoForce, a commercially-available ketone salt product; mTORC1, mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1; NLRP3, nod-like receptor pyrin-domain containing 3 inflammasome; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; HDL, high-density lipoprotein