Exercise-induced Inflammation, Exercise-induced Oxidative Stress, Performance Recovery
Conditions
Keywords
S-Acetyl Glutathione, Glutathione, soccer, recovery
Brief summary
Soccer players display elevated inflammatory and oxidative stress markers combined with reduced soccer specific performance over a 72-hour period. However, in modern soccer, players participate very often in 2 or 3 matches within a week, with a recovery period of 72 hours between successive matches, that is insufficient to restore skeletal muscle homeostasis and performance. Of note, reduced glutathione (GSH) levels, a tripeptide consisting of the amino acids cysteine, glycine and glutamic acid, are substantially reduced during the 72-hour recovery period after a match because of the trauma-related acute inflammatory and oxidative stress response. GSH availability is a crucial regulator of cellular redox status, affecting numerous intracellular and physiological processes such as redox signalling, immunoregulation and muscle metabolism. Indeed, enhanced GSH availability following muscle damaging exercise has been shown to be beneficial for skeletal muscle and performance recovery by mitigating the inflammatory and oxidative stress response. Thus, the enhancement of GSH availability through dietary interventions would be a promising strategy to accelerate skeletal muscle and performance recovery following a soccer game. S-Acetyl Glutathione (SAG) is a glutathione precursor with enhanced absorption kinetics due to chemical S-acetylation of the thiol group on the cysteinyl amino acid of GSH and oral administration of SAG has been shown to be more effective in restoring intracellular glutathione levels compared to oral glutathione. The aim of this study is to (i) perform a pharmacokinetic assessment of 200 mg/day vs 500 mg/day of SAG during a 7-day supplementation period (pre-loading) and (ii) to establish the pharmacodynamic effect of the two dosages at 24, 48 and 72h following a 90-minute official soccer match.
Detailed description
Following baseline testing \[including assessment of anthropometrics, body composition (via DXA instrumentation) and physical performance (cardiorespiratory fitness, drop jump and countermovement jump performance, repeated sprint anility, isokinetic peak torque)\], 20 well-trained, soccer players will participate in three trials, receiving daily (i) 200 mg SAG, (ii) 500 mg SAG or (iii) Placebo, according to a randomized, double-blind, crossover, repeated-measures design. The duration of each trial will be 11 days, including a 7-day pre-loading period (days 1 -7), a match day (day 8) and 3 consecutive recovery days after the match (days 9-11). Between trials a 3-week washout period will be implemented. Pre-loading period: During the 7-day pre-loading period players will participate daily in training sessions according to a soccer-specific weekly training schedule, while receiving the respective supplement. Blood samples will be collected on day 1 and day 7 while daily nutrient intake (via 7-day diet recalls), physical activity level (via accelerometry) and training load (via global positioning system instrumentation during training sessions) will be monitored daily. Match day: On match day, players will participate in an official 90-min soccer match. Field activity (total distance, average and maximum speed, high intensity running, high speed running, accelerations, decelerations) and heart rate (mean and maximum heart rate) will be continuously monitored using global positioning system (GPS) and heart rate monitors, respectively. Recovery days: During the 3-day recovery period after the match, players will participate daily in (i) morning testing sessions and (ii) training sessions in the evening. Testing sessions will include blood sampling and performance measurements including drop jump and countermovement jump performance, repeated sprint anility, isokinetic peak torque and muscle soreness (DOMS). Dietary intake (via a 3-day diet recalls), physical activity level (via accelerometry) and training load (via GPS instrumentation during training sessions) will be monitored daily.
Interventions
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT200 mg S-Acetyl Glutathione
Participants will be supplemented daily with 200 mg of S-acetyl glutathione, orally, over the 11-day experimental period.
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT500 mg S-Acetyl Glutathione
Participants will be supplemented daily with 500 mg of S-acetyl glutathione, orally, over the 11-day experimental period.
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTPlacebo Supplementation
Participants will be supplemented daily with placebo, orally, over the 11-day experimental period.
Sponsors
University of Thessaly
Lesaffre International
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
19 Years to 29 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* participation at elite (top three division leagues) for ≥ 4 years * no recent history of febrile illness, musculoskeletal problems and metabolic diseases * no consumption of medications and performance-enhancing supplements (including anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, vitamins and multivitamin supplements) for at least 6 months prior to the study * participation in at least 5 training sessions and 1 match per week * non-smokers
Exclusion criteria
* musculoskeletal injury * consumption of medication and performance-enhancing supplements * illness during the course of the study * loss of follow-up measurements
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in creatine kinase levels | Day 1, day 7, day 9, day 10 and day 11 | Creatine kinase concentration will be measured in serum using a Clinical Chemistry Analyzer |
| Change in myoglobin levels | Day 1, day 7, day 9, day 10 and day 11 | Myoglobin concentration will be measured in serum using a Clinical Chemistry Analyzer |
| Change in reduced glutathione | Day 1, day 7, day 9, day 10 and day 11 | Reduced glutathione will be photometrically determined in red blood cell lysates using a spectrophotometer |
| Change in oxidized glutathione | Day 1, day 7, day 9, day 10 and day 11 | Oxidized glutathione will be photometrically determined in red blood cell lysates using a spectrophotometer |
| Change in glutathione reductase activity | Day 1, day 7, day 9, day 10 and day 11 | Glutathione reductase activity will be photometrically determined in red blood cell lysates using a spectrophotometer |
| Change in glutathione peroxidase activity | Day 1, day 7, day 9, day 10 and day 11. | Glutathione peroxidase activity will be photometrically determined in red blood cell lysates using a spectrophotometer |
| Change in catalase activity | Day 1, day 7, day 9, day 10 and day 11 | Catalase activity will be photometrically determined in red blood cell lysates using a spectrophotometer |
| Change in superoxide dismutase activity | Day 1, day 7, day 9, day 10 and day 11 | Superoxide dismutase activity will be photometrically determined in red blood cell lysates using a spectrophotometer |
| Change in maximal voluntary isometric contraction | Day 1, day 9, day 10 and day 11 | Maximal voluntary isometric contraction will be assessed at a 60o knee joint angle, in both dominant and non-dominant limb, using an isokinetic dynamometer |
| Change in maximal peak torque | Day 1, day 9, day 10 and day 11 | Maximal concentric and eccentric peak torque at 60o/s of the knee extensors and flexors in both dominant and non-dominant limb, will be assessed on an isokinetic dynamometer |
| Change in jumping performance | Day 1, day 9, day 10 and day11 | Countermovement jump and drop jump performance will be tested using an optical measurement system consisting of a transmitting and receiving bar |
| Change in repeated sprint ability | Day 1, day 9, day 10 and day 11 | Repeated sprint ability will be assessed by performing 5x25 m sprints interspersed by a 25-seconds recovery period using infrared photocells |
| Change in delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) | Day 1, day 9, day 10 and day 11 | DOMS will be assessed using a 10-scale visual analogue scale |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in total distance covered | Daily throughout the 11-day experimental period | Total distance (km) covered during training and match play will be monitored using Global Positioning System (GPS) |
| Change in internal load | Daily throughout the 11-day experimental period | Heart rate during training sessions and the match will be monitored using heart rate monitors |
| Change in dietary intake | Daily throughout the 11-day experimental period | Dietary intake will be assessed using diet recalls |
| Change in time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity | Daily throughout the 11-day experimental period | The time (minutes) spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on a daily basis will be monitored using accelerometers |
| Change in distance covered with high-intensity running | Daily throughout the 11-day experimental period | Distance (km) covered with high-intensity running during training and match play will be monitored using Global Positioning System (GPS) |
| Change in distance covered with sprinting | Daily throughout the 11-day experimental period | Distance (km) covered with high-intensity sprinting during training and match play will be monitored using Global Positioning System (GPS) |
| Change in accelerations | Daily throughout the 11-day experimental period | The number of accelerations performed during training and match play will be monitored using Global Positioning System (GPS) |
| Change in decelerations | Daily throughout the 11-day experimental period | The number of decelerations performed during training and match play will be monitored using Global Positioning System (GPS) |
| Change in total step count | Daily throughout the 11-day experimental period | The total number of steps performed daily will be monitored using accelerometers |
| Change in physical activity-related energy expenditure | Daily throughout the 11-day experimental period | Energy expenditure (kcal) related to habitual physical activity will be assessed using accelerometers |
Countries
Greece
Contacts
CONTACTDimitrios Draganidis, PhD
CONTACTAthanasios Poulios, PhD
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORDimitrios Draganidis, PhD
University of Thessaly, Department of Physical Education and Sport Science
Outcome results
None listed