Role of Caffeine in Energy Metabolism, Exercise Performance, and Recovery

Caffeine is one of the most widely consumed bioactive compounds and a common ergogenic aid in sport and exercise. Although its effects on performance are well documented, the metabolic mechanisms that underlie these responses remain incompletely understood. As an antagonist of adenosine receptors, caffeine influences central and peripheral pathways involved in energy regulation, including substrate selection, fat oxidation, glycogen utilization, catecholamine signaling, and cellular energy turnover. These effects appear to vary according to dose, timing, habituation, genetic background, exercise modality, and physiological state, highlighting the need for a more integrated understanding of caffeine as a modulator of metabolic function and exercise performance.This Research Topic aims to clarify how caffeine regulates energy metabolism during exercise and post-exercise recovery across molecular, cellular, and whole-body levels, and how these physiological effects relate to exercise capacity and sport performance. The Topic is centered on metabolic physiology, while also extending to exercise physiology and applied sport performance to capture both mechanistic and practical dimensions of caffeine use.We welcome original research articles, brief research reports, reviews, systematic reviews, and methodological or mechanistic studies that address one or more of the following areas:1. Metabolic Mechanisms of Caffeine Action - including substrate metabolism, mitochondrial function, hormonal and neuroendocrine regulation, nutrient-caffeine interactions, and metabolic homeostasis during exercise and recovery(best suited to Frontiers in Physiology: Metabolic Physiology);2. Physiological Responses to Caffeine in Exercise Settings - including dose-response effects, timing strategies, habituation, inter-individual variability, and expectancy-related modulation of caffeine responses, as well as links between metabolic regulation and exercise performance (best suited to Frontiers in Physiology: Exercise Physiology);3. Applied Sport and Exercise Studies on Caffeine and Performance - including work examining performance outcomes across different sports disciplines, athlete populations, delivery forms, supplementation protocols, and practical use contexts (best suited to Frontiers in Sport and Active Living: Exercise Physiology). Topic editors: Mingyue Yin, Dr. KARUPPASAMY GOVINDASAMY, Slaheddine Delleli Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79992/role-of-caffeine-in-energy-metabolism-exercise-performance-and-recovery