"Fuel for the Damage Induced": Untargeted Metabolomics in Elite Rugby Union Match Play.

James F Hudson,Claire E Stewart,Marie M Phelan,Daniel J Owens,James P Morton,Graeme L Close

doi:10.3390/metabo11080544

James F Hudson, Claire E Stewart + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11080544

Copy DOI

Abstract

The metabolic perturbations caused by competitive rugby are not well characterized. Our aim is to utilize untargeted metabolomics to develop appropriate interventions, based on the metabolic fluctuations that occur in response to this collision-based team sport. Seven members of an English Premiership rugby squad consented to provide blood, urine, and saliva samples daily, over a competitive week including gameday (GD), with physical demands and dietary intake also recorded. Sample collection, processing and statistical analysis were performed in accordance with best practice set out by the metabolomics standards initiative employing 700 MHz NMR spectroscopy. Univariate and multivariate statistical analysis were employed to reveal the acute energy needs of this high intensity sport are met via glycolysis, the TCA cycle and gluconeogenesis. The recovery period after cessation of match play and prior to training recommencing sees a re-entry to gluconeogenesis, coupled with markers of oxidative stress, structural protein degradation, and reduced fatty acid metabolism. This novel insight leads us to propose that effective recovery from muscle damaging collisions is dependent upon the availability of glucose. An adjustment in the periodisation of carbohydrate to increase GD+1 provision may prevent the oxidation of amino acids which may also be crucial to allay markers of structural tissue degradation. Should we expand the ‘Fuel for the work required’ paradigm in collision-based team sports to include ‘Fuel for the damage induced’?

Highlights

Rugby union is a team sport played by 9.6 million people across 159 registered unions worldwide
High intensity activities incorporating high speed running, sprinting, and frequent accelerations, and decelerations [1,2,3]. The combination of these mechanical stressors with the frequent collision-based activities can result in exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD) and impact induced muscle damage (IIMD) with distinct aetiologies [4]
The observation that total energy expenditure (TEE) was increased in young rugby players, in training weeks involving collisions [5], led to our recent investigation into how resting metabolic rate (RMR) fluctuates in elite athletes throughout a competitive match week [6]. We demonstrated that both RMR and carbohydrate oxidation in the fasted state increased significantly in the days following elite rugby union match play and proposed this was due to the muscle damage caused by the collisions inherent with the sport [6]

Summary

Introduction

Rugby union is a team sport played by 9.6 million people across 159 registered unions worldwide. The observation that total energy expenditure (TEE) was increased in young rugby players, in training weeks involving collisions [5], led to our recent investigation into how resting metabolic rate (RMR) fluctuates in elite athletes throughout a competitive match week [6]. We demonstrated that both RMR and carbohydrate oxidation in the fasted state increased significantly in the days following elite rugby union match play and proposed this was due to the muscle damage caused by the collisions inherent with the sport [6]. Altered metabolites in blood samples after these exercise bouts mapped to alterations in energy production, amino acid metabolism, and indicators of oxidative stress [9,10]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion