The effect of boron supplementation on lean body mass, plasma testosterone levels and strength in male weightlifters

The effect of boron supplementation on plasma testosterone, lean body mass and strength was investigated in male weightlifters. A double blind pretest - posttest, true experimental design was utilized. Ten male bodybuilders (ages 20-26 yr) were given a 2.5 mg boron supplement, while 9 male bodybuilders (ages 21-27 yr) were given a placebo each day for seven weeks. Plasma total and free testosterone values were determined by radioimmunoassay, lean body mass was determined by hydrostatic weighing, and strength measurements were determined by 1 repetition maximum (1RM) in the squat and bench press on days 1 and 49 of the study. Plasma boron was analyzed by microwave digestion and inductively - coupled argon plasma spectrometry (ICAP).; There was a significant difference in plasma boron due to group membership. The mean plasma boron level of the experimental group increased from (mean {dollar}pm{dollar} SD) 20.1 {dollar}pm{dollar} 7.7 ppb pretest to 32.6 {dollar}pm{dollar} 27.6 ppb posttest, while the control group mean decreased from 15.1 {dollar}pm{dollar} 14.4 ppb pretest to 6.3 {dollar}pm{dollar} 5.5 ppb posttest. Large variations were noted within both groups. An analysis of variance indicated no significant effect of boron supplementation on any of the dependent variables. Both the boron-supplemented group and the control group demonstrated significant increases in total testosterone (p {dollar}<{dollar}.01), lean body mass (p {dollar}<{dollar}.01), 1RM squat (p {dollar}<{dollar}.0001) and 1RM bench press (p {dollar}<{dollar}.01). A 2 x 2 correlation matrix between percent change of each plasma testosterone value and percent change of each strength value revealed no significant relationships. The findings suggest that seven weeks of bodybuilding can increase total testosterone, lean body mass and strength in lesser-trained bodybuilders.