London, June 30 (IANS) High doses of caffeine directly increase muscle power and endurance during relatively low-intensity activities.
Scientists from the Coventry University believe their findings may have implications for the use of caffeine in sport to improve performance.
‘A very high dosage of caffeine, most likely achieved via tablets, powder or concentrated liquid, is feasible and might prove attractive to a number of athletes wishing to improve their performance,’ said lead researcher Rob James.
‘A small increase in performance via caffeine could mean the difference between a gold medal in the Olympics and an also-ran,’ he added.
Caffeine is not currently listed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as a banned substance at any concentration in blood or urine samples.
The scientists presented their work at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Meeting in Prague.
