Table 4.
Force and Power Production Outcomes in Acute Energy Drink and Energy Shot Studies.
| Study | Subjects | Design | ED/ES Condition | Timing | Performance Testing Protocol | Results | Ref # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Del Coso et al. 2012a | 19 semiprofessional soccer players (21 ± 2 y, 67 ± 2 kg) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (Sugar-free Red Bull®) providing 3 mg∙kg BW−1 caffeine vs. placebo | 60 min prior to exercise testing | 15s maximal jump test | ↑ Jump height | [135] |
| Del Coso et al. 2012b | 12 active participants (30 ± 7 y, 69 ± 10 kg,) |
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (Fure®, ProEnergetics at 1 and 3 mg∙kg BW−1 caffeine, taurine 2000 mg, sodium bicarbonate 500 mg, L-carnitine 200 mg, and maltodextrin 705 mg) vs. the same drink without caffeine |
60 min prior to exercise testing | Half-squat and BP power production with loads from 10 to 100% of 1RM | Ingestion of 1 mg/kg of caffeine did not affect maximal power during the power-load tests with respect to the placebo. 3 mg/kg ↑ maximal power in the half-squat compared to placebo condition (3 mg/kg: 2726 ± 167 vs. Placebo: 2549 ± 161 W) and bench-press (3 mg/kg: 375 ± 33 vs. Placebo: 358 ± 35 W). |
[141] |
| Sünram-Lea et al. 2012 | 81 firefighter trainees (26 ± 10 y, 80.6 ± 17.1 kg) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED containing 40 mg caffeine and 50 g carbohydrates vs. ED with 80 mg caffeine and 10.25 g carbohydrates vs. placebo | 75 min prior to exercise testing | Handgrip test | ↑ Handgrip strength after consumption of ED containing 40 mg caffeine and 50 g carbohydrates | [148] |
| Eckerson et al. 2013 | 17 physically active men (21 ± 1 y, 85.5 ± 9.3 kg) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (Sugar-free Red Bull®) containing 160 mg caffeine and 2000 mg taurine vs. a caffeine only drink (160 mg) vs. a non-caloric placebo | 60 min prior to exercise testing | 1RM BP | ↔ 1RM BP | [151] |
| Del Coso et al. 2013a | 16 elite female rugby players (23 ± 2 y, 66 ± 7 kg) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (Fure®, ProEnergetics: 3 mg∙kg BW−1 caffeine, taurine 2000 mg, sodium bicarbonate 500 mg, L-carnitine 200 mg, and maltodextrin 705 mg) vs. placebo |
60 min prior to exercise testing | 15s maximal jump test | ↑ Power output during jump test | [169] |
| Abien-Vicen et al. 2014 | 16 young basketball players (14.9 ± 0.8 y, 73.4 ± 12.4 kg) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (Fure®, ProEnergetics: 3 mg∙kg BW−1 caffeine, taurine 2000 mg, sodium bicarbonate 500 mg, L-carnitine 200 mg, and maltodextrin 705 mg) vs. placebo |
60 min prior to exercise testing | CMVJ test 15s maximal jump test |
↑ CMVJ jump height (38.3 ± 4.4 vs. 37.5 ± 4.4 cm) ↑ Jump height in 15s jump test (30.2 ± 3.4 vs. 28.8 ± 3.4 cm). |
[134] |
| Del Coso et al. 2014 | 15 male volleyball players (21.8 ± 6.9 y, 66 ± 7 kg) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (Fure®, ProEnergetics: 3 mg∙kg BW−1 caffeine, taurine 2000 mg, sodium bicarbonate 500 mg, L-carnitine 200 mg, and maltodextrin 705 mg) vs. placebo |
60 min prior to exercise testing | Squat Jump CMVJ test 15s maximal jump test |
↑ Mean jump height for squat jumps (32.7 ± 4.2 vs. 31.1 ± 4.3 cm) ↑ CMVJ height (37.7 ± 4.4 vs. 35.9 ± 4.6 cm) ↑ Jump height in 15s jump test (30.5 ± 4.6 vs. 29.0 ± 4.0 cm) |
[136] |
| Goel et al. 2014 | 15 male volleyball players (21.8 ± 6.9 y, 66 ± 7 kg) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (Red Bull®) providing 2 mg∙kg BW−1 caffeine vs. placebo | 60 min prior to exercise testing | Handgrip test | ↔ Handgrip strength | [149] |
| Kammerer et al. 2014 | 14 male soldiers | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (Red Bull®) containing 80 mg caffeine and 1000 mg taurine vs. drink containing 80 mg caffeine vs. drink containing 1000 mg taurine vs. drink containing 80 mg caffeine and 1000 mg taurine vs. placebo | Information unavailable | Handgrip test Vertical jump test |
↔ Handgrip strength ↔ Vertical jump height |
[145] |
| Lara et al. 2014 | 18 female soccer players (21 ± 2 y, 57.8 ± 7.7 kg) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (Fure®, ProEnergetics: 3 mg∙kg BW−1 caffeine, taurine 2000 mg, sodium bicarbonate 500 mg, L-carnitine 200 mg, and maltodextrin 705 mg) vs. placebo |
60 min prior to exercise testing | CMVJ test | ↑ CMVJ height (27.4 ± 3.8 vs. 26.6 ± 4.0 cm) | [138] |
| Abian et al. (2015) | 16 male elite badminton players (25.4 ± 7.3 y, 71.8 ± 7.9 kg) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (Fure®, ProEnergetics: 3 mg∙kg BW−1 caffeine, taurine 2000 mg, sodium bicarbonate 500 mg, L-carnitine 200 mg, and maltodextrin 705 mg) vs. placebo |
60 min prior to exercise testing | Squat Jump CMVJ test Handgrip test |
↑ Squat jump height (36.4 ± 4.3 vs. 34.5 ± 4.7 cm) and squat jump peak power ↑ CMVJ height (39.5 ± 5.1 vs. 37.7 ± 4.5 cm) and CMVJ peak power ↔ Handgrip strength |
[133] |
| Lara et al. 2015 | 14 male sprint swimmers (20.2 ± 2.6 y, 73.9 ± 8.3 kg) |
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (Fure®, ProEnergetics: 3 mg∙kg BW−1 caffeine, taurine 2000 mg, sodium bicarbonate 500 mg, L-carnitine 200 mg, and maltodextrin 705 mg) or placebo |
60 min prior to exercise testing | CMVJ test Handgrip test |
↑ CMVJ height (50.9 ± 5.2 vs. 49.4 ± 5.3 cm) ↑ Handgrip strength with the right hand (481 ± 49 vs. 498 ± 43 N) but not left hand |
[139] |
| Gallo-Salazar et al. 2015 | 14 young elite-level tennis players (16 ± 1 y) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (Fure®, ProEnergetics: 3 mg∙kg BW−1 caffeine, taurine 2000 mg, sodium bicarbonate 500 mg, L-carnitine 200 mg, and maltodextrin 705 mg) vs. placebo |
60 min prior to exercise testing | Handgrip test | ↑ Handgrip strength (4.2% ± 7.2%) following consumption of ED compared to placebo | [147] |
| Perez-Lopez et al. 2015 | 13 elite female volleyball players (25.2 ± 4.8 y, 64.4 ± 7.6 kg) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (Fure®, ProEnergetics: 3 mg∙kg BW−1 caffeine, taurine 2000 mg, sodium bicarbonate 500 mg, L-carnitine 200 mg, and maltodextrin 705 mg) vs. placebo |
60 min prior to exercise testing | Spike jump Blocking jump Squat jump CMVJ test Manual dynamometry |
↑ Squat jump height (29.4 ± 3.6 vs. 28.1 ± 3.2 cm) ↑ CMVJ height (33.1 ± 4.5 vs. 32.0 ± 4.6 cm) ↑ Spike jump height (44.4 ± 5.0 vs. 43.3 ± 4.7 cm) ↑ Blocking jump height (36.1 ± 5.1 vs. 35.2 ± 5.1 cm) ↔ Manual dynamometry |
[140] |
| Campbell et al. 2016 | 19 college-aged males and females (22.4 ± 3.2 y, 69.0 ± 12.7 kg) |
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (VPX Redline®, Power Rush: Caffeine Anhydrous 175 mg, Vitamin C 60 mg, Niacin 5 mg, Vitamin B12 0.0625 mg, Vitamin B6 0.75 mg, Folic Acid 0.2 mg, N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine 125 mg, Beta-Alanine 12.5 mg, DL-Phenylalanine 0.325 mg, L-Phenylalanine 0.325 mg) vs. placebo |
30 min prior to exercise testing | CMVJ test | ↔ CMVJ height | [142] |
| Astley et al. 2018 | 15 resistance-trained males (21.0 ± 0.3 y; 79.6 ± 1.8 kg) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (caffeine (64 mg/200 mL) [2.5 mg∙kg BW−1] caffeine, soda water, carbohydrates 71 g, taurine (800 mg/200 mL), glucoronolactone (48 mg/200 mL), inositol (40 mg / 200 mL), natural extract of guarana and vitamins (B3, B5, B2, B6, B12) vs. placebo |
60 min prior to exercise testing | BP RTF (80% 1RM) Unilateral knee extension RTF (80% 1RM) Handgrip test |
↑ BP repetitions (10.2 ± 0.4 reps vs. 8.1 ± 0.5 reps) ↑ Unilateral knee extension repetitions (11.5 ± 0.9 vs. 9.5 ± 0.8 reps) ↑ handgrip strength in the right (53.7 ± 1.5 vs. 47.7 ± 1.6 kg) and left hand (52.9 ± 1.5 vs. 45.9 ± 1.3 kg) |
[150] |
| Jacobson et al. 2018 | 36 male and female undergraduate students (23.07 ± 2.36 y, 76.9 ± 16.7 kg) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ES (5-hour ENERGY, Living Essentials: 57 ml containing 240 mg caffeine, taurine, glucuronolactone, malic acid, N-Acetyl L tyrosine, L-phenylalanine, and citicoline labeled as “Energy Blend – 2000 mg”.) vs. placebo |
30 min prior to exercise testing | CMVJ test | ↔ CMVJ height | [144] |
| Chtorou et al. 2019 | 19 male physical education students (21.2 ± 1.2 y, 76.6 ± 12.6 kg) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (Red Bull®: 160 mg caffeine and 2 g taurine, 1.2 g glucuronolactone, 54 g carbohydrate, 40 mg niacin, 10 mg pantothenic acid, 10 mg vitamin B6, and 10 μg vitamin B12) vs. placebo | 60 min prior to exercise testing | Handgrip test | ↑ Handgrip strength (58.2 ± 2.4 vs. 55.5 ± 2.7 kg) | [146] |
| Harty et al. 2020 | 16 resistance-trained males (n = 8; 22.4 ± 4.9 y, 78.8 ± 14.0 kg) and females (n = 8; 24.5 ± 4.8 y, 67.5 ± 11.9 kg) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | ED (Bang® Keto Coffee: 130 kcal, 300 mg caffeine, 20 g protein) vs. placebo (30 kcal, 11 mg caffeine, 1 g protein) | 40 min prior to exercise testing | LP 1RM Maximal isometric and isokinetic squat testing |
↔ LP 1RM ↔ Maximal isometric/isokinetic squat performance |
[152] |
↑ = ED/ES significantly greater (p < 0.05) than control; ↓ = ED/ES significantly less (p < 0.05) than control; ↔ = no significant difference between ED/ES and control; 1RM = 1 repetition maximum; BP = Bench press; CMVJ = Countermovement vertical jump; ED = energy drink; ES = energy shot; g = gram; kg = kilogram; LP = Leg press; mg = milligram; RTF = repetitions to fatigue; y = years; μg = microgram