Menthol Mouth Rinsing Improves Cycling Performance in Trained Adolescent Males Under Heat Stress.

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Sports Science
• Environmental Physiology

Background:

• Athletes often face performance decrements in hot environments.
• Thermoregulatory responses and perceived exertion can be modulated by oral cooling.
• Menthol's sensory cooling effect has potential ergogenic benefits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of menthol mouth rinsing on cycling performance.
• To assess the effects under simulated hot environmental conditions.
• To evaluate performance during a demanding, intermittent cycling protocol.

Main Methods:

• Trained adolescent male cyclists underwent a modified variable cycle test (M-VCT) in hot conditions.
• A randomized crossover design compared menthol (0.01%) mouth rinse to a placebo.
• Key performance metrics, physiological responses, and perceptual data were recorded.

Main Results:

• Menthol mouth rinse significantly increased mean power output during the M-VCT by 1.81%.
• Maximal intermittent sprint power output (6-s and 10-s) was significantly higher with menthol.
• No significant differences were observed in core temperature, heart rate, or perceptual measures.

Conclusions:

• Menthol mouth rinsing demonstrated a performance-enhancing effect in adolescent cyclists.
• A majority of athletes (64%) showed improved cycling performance with menthol.
• Menthol mouth rinse may be a viable strategy to improve power output in sport-specific cycling tasks.