Inositol-stabilized arginine silicate (ASI) is an ergogenic aid that upregulates nitric oxide. Acute ASI supplementation improves working memory and processing speed in young adults but there is a lack of data examining other cognitive tasks. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine acute ASI effects on young healthy adults by assessing multiple cognitive domains. Nineteen young adults (20.9 ± 3.2 years) completed this randomized, double-blind, crossover study consuming ASI (1.5 g ASI + 12 g dextrose) and placebo (12 g dextrose). The participants completed the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) and two digital cognitive assessments before consuming the supplement and then completed the same battery of tests 60 min post-supplementation. Repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated that ASI consumption significantly improved total RBANS and immediate memory scores compared to the placebo (p < 0.05). However, no significant differences were displayed between trials for other cognitive domains (p > 0.05). Acute ASI ingestion increased overall RBANS scores and immediate memory scores in young adults. More research is needed to examine the acute effects of ASI on other domains of cognition, in older populations, and its long-term effects on cognition.
Keywords: cognition; inositol-stabilized arginine silicate; nitric oxide.