Acute changes in the metabolome following resistance exercise combined with intake of different protein sources (cricket, pea, whey)

Abstract

IntroductionSeparately, both exercise and protein ingestion have been shown to alter the blood and urine metabolome. This study goes a step further and examines changes in the metabolome derived from blood, urine and muscle tissue extracts in response to resistance exercise combined with ingestion of three different protein sources. MethodsIn an acute parallel study, 52 young males performed one-legged resistance exercise (leg extension, 4 x 10 repetitions at 10 repetition maximum) followed by ingestion of either cricket (insect), pea or whey protein (0.25 g protein/kg fat free mass). Blood and muscle tissue were collected at baseline and three hours after protein ingestion. Urine was collected at baseline and four hours after protein ingestion. ResultsNuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics resulted in the annotation and quanti cation of 25 metabolites in blood, 35 in urine and 21 in muscle tissue. Changes in the muscle metabolome after combined exercise and protein intake indicated effects related to the protein source ingested. Muscle concentrations of leucine, methionine, glutamate and myo-inositol were higher after intake of whey protein compared to both cricket and pea protein. The blood metabolome revealed changes in a more ketogenic direction three hours after exercise re ecting that the trial was conducted after overnight fasting. Urinary concentration of trimethylamine N-oxide was signi cantly higher after ingestion of cricket than pea and whey protein. ConclusionThe blood, urine and muscle metabolome showed different and supplementary responses to exercise and ingestion of the different protein sources, and in synergy the summarized results provided a more complete picture of the metabolic state of the body.

Should we provide edible insects in children's diets?

“…A human study compared partially defatted house cricket powder with pea and whey for amino acids bioavailability and muscle synthesis in healthy adults ( n = 50) [9 ▪ ]. The amino acid response in blood showed lower levels of most amino acids after intake of the cricket test meal compared to whey, indicating inferior amino acids bioavailability.…”