The effect of sucrose-sucralose solutions with different concentrations on walking performance

It has been shown that non-metabolic responses to mouth rinsing with carbohydrate solutions affect exercise performance. It is thought that exercise performance changes with the increase of corticomotor activity through reward systems. We could not find any study examining the effects of mouth rinsing with caloric and non-caloric sweeteners on exercise performance. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the effect of solutions consisting of binary and reciprocal combinations of sucrose and sucralose, with similar and different total sweetness, on walking performance. Ten recreationally active participants were enrolled in the study. 4 different solutions with different sucrose-sucralose ratios (1% sucrose+0.00186% sucralose, 1% sucrose+0.00985% sucralose, 6% sucrose+0.00186% sucralose, 6% sucrose+0.00985% sucralose solutions) and a control solution were prepared. Each solution was administered to the participants by mouth rinsing during a moderate-intensity 60-minute walking exercise on 5 different days. The exercise intensity was defined 64-76% of each participant's maximum heart rate. Participants were asked to rinse and spit out a different 25 ml solution every 7.5 minutes of exercise for 60 minutes. Energy expenditure, heart rate, respiratory exchange ratio and rate of perceived effort were measured during the walking exercise. While the appetite, fatigue and thirst status of the participants were assessed before and after the exercise, the perceptual evaluation of the solutions was recorded at the end of the exercise. Walking performances with rinsing of solutions (1% sucrose+0.00186% sucralose, 1% sucrose+0.00985% sucralose, 6% sucrose+0.00186% sucralose, 6% sucrose+0.00985% sucralose and control) did not significantly affect walking energy expenditure, heart rate, respiratory exchange ratio, substrate oxidation and rate of perceived effort. There was no significant difference between the solutions in terms of appetite, thirst and fatigue values during walking performance. There was no significant difference in perceived sweetness between solutions with 7% and 12% total sweetness. We observed that mouth rinsing with solutions with similar and different total sweetness formed by binary and reciprocal combinations of sucrose and sucralose did not have a different effect on physiological parameters, appetite, fatigue and thirst status examined in 60-minute endurance walking performance compared to the control solution and the solutions had similar sweetness ratios at increasing concentrations.