D-ribose and exercise
What 4 graded rows on d-ribose agree on for exercise, and where they differ. Counted side by side, never averaged.
Consensus finder Rows from the D-ribose page, reviewed Oct 21, 2026 How it decides
What the rows agree on
Each block and row is one graded row from the D-ribose page, with its PubMed record.
Your question
D-ribose and exercise
4 rows · 70 peopleSplit. 1 row found an improvement, 2 found no difference and 1 had mixed results.
- DGrade D× 4
- Rows
- 4
- Trials
- 4
- People
- 70
Where they differ
From the rowsThe best-graded row, grade D, is a crossover trial of 26 people (2017) and reported mixed results.
Only the 2 rows that found no difference name athletes or trained people in their population.
The row that found an improvement is newer (2020) than the 2 rows that found no difference (2005 to 2006).
1 row with mixed results is left out of this comparison.
The rows
1 improved · 2 no difference · 1 mixed- DGrade DAnaerobic capacity and metabolic markers in cyclists · No difference
Crossover RCT · n 12 · 2005 · Moderately trained male cyclists
3 g ribose (plus 150 µg folate) before and during exercise · Single session
No effect on repeated 30-second sprint performance or adenine nucleotide breakdown.
- DGrade DSprint power (three 30-second Wingate tests) · No difference
Crossover RCT · n 11 · 2006 · Men (USA)
625 mg before exercise · Single dose
No differences in peak power, mean power or power decline versus placebo.
- DGrade DMuscle soreness after plyometric exercise · Improved
RCT · n 21 · 2020 · Untrained male college students (China)
15 g at 5 time points around exercise (1 h before to 36 h after) · 2 days around one exercise session
Soreness at 24 and 48 hours was lower than in the D-ribose group's own first session; at 24 hours creatine kinase, LDH, myoglobin and malondialdehyde were lower than placebo. Muscle strength and antioxidant markers did not differ.
- DGrade DPower output, exertion and muscle damage over repeated exercise days · Mixed
Crossover RCT · n 26 · 2017 · Healthy adults split by fitness level (USA)
10 g/day · 5 days (2 loading + 3 exercise days)
In less-fit participants, mean and peak power rose and perceived exertion and creatine kinase were lower with D-ribose than dextrose; no differences in fitter participants.