Aspartic Acid(also called aminosuccinic acid or aspartate) is a non-essential amino acid in humans. Amino acids are molecules that have several functions in the body. They’re the building blocks of protein, as well as certain hormones and neurotransmitters.
Nonessential amino acids are the types which your body can synthesize from other compounds and amino acids which means you do not necessary need to include them in your dietary intake.
Aspartic acid health and fitness benefits
L-aspartic acid is responsible for promoting the production of antibodies which support the function of immune system.
Aspartic acid aids in the synthesis of four essential amino acids in humans: methionine, threonine, isoleucine, and lysine. Methionine is used in the metabolism; threonine is used in the central nervous system, the cardiovascular system, and the immune system; isoleucine is used in energy regulation; lysine is used in growth and muscle turnover.
aspartic acid can be used as a testosterone booster and a supplement to increase sperm count for infertile men and sometimes by athletes as a temporary booster. Elevated testosterone levels were shown to only last a around 7 to 10 days around 50% in healthy men, with testosterone going back to normal afterward.
In One study, 23 healthy men aged between 27 and 37 were supplemented with D-aspartic acid for 12 days.
Only 3 men out of 23 individuals did not have a rise in testosterone while remaining 20 had a rise In testosterone up to around 50 percent.
3 days after they stopped taking aspartic acid and their testosterone levels were still 22% higher than the beginning of the study.
It is worth mentioning that aspartic acid and its effect on testosterone seem to be heavily dependent on BFP(body fat percentage). The higher an individual body fat mass, the lower rate of testosterone improvement effect may occur.
Aspartic acid has not only been claimed for improving male hormones, it has also shown to be effective for regulation, release and synthesis luteinizing hormone (LH).
LH is responsible for regulating when a woman’s ovaries release an egg during her menstrual cycle and encouraging sperm production in men.
Although there are a lot of claims about its benefits on exercise output and strength gain, there has been a series of researches which did not see any improvement in those fields at all.
There is also claim about aspartic acid Increasing absorption of minerals. There are claims that L-aspartate is a special type of mineral transporter for cations, such as magnesium, into cells.
There are also claims that L-aspartate(especially the potassium magnesium aspartate salt) has ergogenic effects since it helps spare stores of muscle glycogen and/or promote a faster rate of glycogen resynthesis while training(Ergogenic are substances that aid in body energy production, energy use or recovery for athletes).
it can also promote energy production by its metabolism in the Krebs cycle.
The Krebs cycle is a chain of chemical reactions used by aerobic organisms to produce energy through the oxidization of acetate(derived from macronutrients) into carbon dioxide.
research on aspartic acid is still not that convincing but scientist are working on understanding this compound.