Effect of timing of citrate drink ingestion on blood lactate removal

[Purpose] Citrate drinks are readily available and effectively remove lactate from blood, improving performance. However, whether they are more beneficial when consumed before or after exercise is unclear. We aimed to examine the effect of citrate drink intake timing on blood lactate removal. [Participants and Methods] We randomly assigned 41 healthy male students to four conditions: citric acid intake before exercise, citric acid intake after, water intake after, and no intake. The participants performed a 5-min ergometer cycle, and we measured the blood lactate levels before and at 0, 5, 10, 20, and 30 min after exercise. We calculated the reduction rate of blood lactate levels by subtracting the respective blood lactate values from those at 0 min and then dividing by the blood lactate value at 0 min (Ex-5, Ex-10, Ex-20, and Ex-30). [Results] The measured blood lactate values or their reduction rates were not significantly different between the four conditions. Significant differences were observed between the pre- and post-citric acid conditions for Ex-5, Ex-10, Ex-20, and Ex-30. [Conclusion] The effects of different timings of citric acid intake on blood lactate removal were not significantly different, and the reduction rate of blood lactate values continued to increase with citric acid intake, regardless of timing.