Rehydration Drinks The first studies conducted on the benefits of using maltodextrins (MDs) in drinks that were done to restore and compensate for lost water in people with diarrhea, the benefits of maltodextrin have been proven. At a similar concentration of dry matter, the osmolality rate increases with increasing DE of saccharides. Based on dry weight, the osmolality of MDs is significantly lower than disaccharide compounds.
(Each osmole (osm) is equivalent to one mole of dissolved particles. Therefore, a solution that contains one mole of glucose per liter has a concentration of 1 osm/liter. If a molecule is separated into two ions, the 1 mol/liter solution has an osmotic concentration equivalent to It will have 2 osm/lit. Likewise, 1 mole of a molecule that dissociates into three ions will have an osmotic concentration equal to 3 osm/lit. Therefore, the word osmole represents the number of solution particles that are osmotically active, not the molar concentration. Sports rehydration drinks, drinks with lower osmolality, help reduce digestive stress and control the speed of gastric emptying.
In drinks with low osmolarity, maltodextrin is used as a substitute for sucrose or glucose in sports drinks. Another effect of these drinks is that it increases the time of water absorption, or in other words, the speed of water absorption decreases. When higher rates of carbohydrate supply are needed, the combination of MDs and fructose can be useful. In one of the studies conducted in this field, the effects of simple sugars (glucose or fructose), disaccharides (sucrose) and oligomers (maltodextrin) alone or in combination were compared.
The results of this research showed that the combined use of glucose and fructose is associated with improving the rate of water absorption, while the use of MDs helps to keep the osmolality of the reduction at a low level, which is considered an important factor in the case of these drinks. Sports Energy Drinks Since there is a close relationship between the glycogen content of muscle fiber and its ability for intense contractions, increasing the content of glycogen or reducing the rate of its hydrolysis can help reduce fatigue. Examining the effect of digesting MDs during exercise shows that maltodextrin digestion reduces the rate of glycogen hydrolysis during long-term activities and increases the overall rate of oxidation of carbohydrates in the body.
These effects are similar in both women and men. Sports recovery drinks combining MDs with protein or amino acids can improve glycogen recovery and improve glycogen synthesis following heavy exercise. This effect is also seen in the combination of other carbohydrates and amino acids. This issue can be highly considered by the nutrition industry of athletes so that they can improve muscle strength and power and increase the performance of athletes by combining these two compounds.
Sources: [1]. Saavedra–Leos, M. Z., Leyva-Porras, C., Alvarez-Salas, C., Longoria-Rodríguez, F., López-Pablos, A. L., González-García, R., & Pérez-Urizar, J. T. (2018). Obtaining orange juice-maltodextrin powders without structure collapse based on the glass transition temperature and degree of polymerization. CyTA-Journal of Food, 16(1), 61-69. [2]. Câmara, J. T. C., Ferreira, A. M. D. J., & Fayh, A. P. T. (2017). Hydration with maltodextrin vs. a regional beverage: effects on the performance of soccer players. Revista Brasileira de Medicina do Esporte, 23(3), 217-221. [3]. Ershova, T. A., Bozhko, S. D., Chernyshova, A. N., & Gavrilova, J. A. (2020). Development of Dry Mixtures for Protein-Carbohydrate Drinks Used for Sports Nutrition. Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques, 8(4), 1521-1529