Acute changes in blood metabolites and amino acid profile post-exercise in Foxhound dogs fed a high endurance formula

Abstract

Dogs participating in endurance exercise, including herding, hunting and racing have a greater energy requirement and may be more susceptible to nutrient depletion, electrolyte imbalance and metabolic stress. The objective of the present study was to investigate the acute response to unstructured mixed exercise in American Foxhounds fed a nutrient-fortified endurance diet. Thirty-nine adult Foxhound dogs (median age: 5·0, range: 2–10 years and median body weight (BW): 36·4, range: 24·9–49·5 kg) were allotted to a standard performance diet (Control) or nutrient-fortified endurance diet for adult dogs (Test). Dogs were balanced by sex, age, BW and athletic performance between diets. All male dogs were intact, whereas all the female dogs were spayed. After 80 d on diet, blood samples were collected via jugular puncture at baseline (0 h), and at 3 and 25 h post-exercise (mean: 17·7 (sem 0·92) km run over 2–3 h). Plasma taurine concentration and complete amino acid (AA) profile, serum chemistry and creatine kinase were measured. Serum chemistry profile remained within normal ranges throughout the study. A significant (P < 0·05) diet by time interaction was observed for calcium, alkaline phosphatase and most AA. Plasma taurine and most essential AA were increased (P < 0·05) after exercise and remained greater (P < 0·05) in dogs fed the Test diet, including the branched-chain AA (isoleucine, leucine and valine). Creatine kinase increased (P = 0·01) after 3 h and returned to baseline after 25 h post-exercise, but was not altered by diet. These data indicate that dogs undergoing a moderate bout of exercise did not suffer from electrolyte imbalance, and that a nutrient-fortified diet resulted in greater plasma taurine and essential AA concentrations.

Tyrosine as a Mechanistic-Based Biomarker for Brain Glycogen Decrease and Supercompensation With Endurance Exercise in Rats: A Metabolomics Study of Plasma

“…Endurance exercise increases blood glycogenic amino acids levels, such as alanine, tyrosine, and phenylalanine derived from protein catabolism in active muscles ( Ahlborg et al, 1974 ), and enhances their splanchnic exchanges to be utilized as hepatic gluconeogenesis sources ( Wahren et al, 1971 ). Furthermore, increased blood glycogenic amino acids recover to basal levels or decrease, compared with pre-exercise levels, to be metabolized by the rest after endurance exercise ( Borgenvik et al, 2012 ; de Godoy et al, 2014 ). Our present data regarding endurance exercise are supported by these previous findings.…”

Measurement of Creatine kinase and Aspartate aminotransferase in saliva of dogs: a pilot study

“…Serum activities of CK and AST reflect damage of muscle and are useful markers to determine the condition of muscle tissue both in dogs [ 10 , 13 , 23 , 24 ] and humans [ 25 , 26 ]. In particular, increases in CK following physical activity has been associated with muscle damage in both racing and hunting dogs [ 9 ] and similar findings have been described in humans [ 8 , 25 ].…”

Longitudinal changes in blood metabolites, amino acid profile, and oxidative stress markers in American Foxhounds fed a nutrient-fortified diet

“…For example, plasma MDA, an indirect marker of oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation, was not greatly affected over time. A previous study by the current authors, evaluating acute response to bouts of unstructured exercise in these same dogs, also observed no changes in plasma MDA concentrations (de Godoy et al, 2014). Given that the current project was a field study, many factors contribute to the final results.…”

“…In a recent short-term study, we evaluated the acute response to unstructured mixed exercise when American Foxhound dogs were fed a test diet containing added zinc, taurine, lutein, and vitamins C and E (de Godoy et al, 2014). Dogs were fed either the test diet or a standard commercial diet for approximately 80 d before they underwent 2 to 3 h of unstructured mixed exercise.…”