Effect of nocturnal melatonin intake on cellular damage and recovery from repeated sprint performance during an intensive training schedule

Melatonin supplementation alleviates cellular damage and physical performance decline induced by an intensive training period in professional soccer players

“…Appositely, we observed that MEL ingestion prevented an upsurge of AOPP level. Likewise, previous investigations recommended MEL to counteract exercise-induced oxidative stress [1,8,10,25]. This may be explained by the extremely important antioxidant action of MEL and its metabolites produced as a result of the neutralization of ROS [9].…”

Exercise-induced oxidative stress and melatonin supplementation: current evidence

“…Increased serum MT level in footballers and in rowers after a 30-day MT intake. Reduced OS markers: MDA, IL-6, CRP, and low-density lipoproteins Supplementation of MT in professional athletes during intense training may protect against the toxic action of ROS/RNS and inflammation Souissi et al 2018 [ 121 ] Eight healthy moderately trained male students, mean age: 21.8 ± 0.9 years 6 mg MT supplementation or placebo at 09:00 a.m. in a randomized order 50 min before exercise Running at 60% for 45 min on a treadmill, starting at a speed of 8 km/h and increasing by 0.5 km/h after every minute Exercise elevated inflammatory markers: CRP, LDH, ALAT, ASAT in both placebo or MT intake groups MT ingestion before moderate prolonged submaximal exercise showed no anti-inflammatory action Cheikh et al 2020 [ 124 ] Randomized double-blind trial of 14 healthy-trained male athletes, mean age 154 ± 0.3 years 10 mg MT or placebo ingestion (control) after vigorous late-evening exercise (10:00 p.m.) Two-test sessions (separated at least one week) Running-Based Anaerobic Sprint Test at 8:00 p.m. and in the following morning (7:30 a.m.) Reductions of: WBC, NE, LY, CRP, muscle and hepatic damage enzymes (CK, ASAD), LDH, MDA and homocysteine before and after strenuous exercise vs placebo group MT intake after strenuous late-evening exercise diminished transient leukocytosis and protected against lipid peroxidation and muscle damage in teenage athletes Farjallach et al 2019 [ 125 ] 20 soccer players mean age 18.81 ± 1.3 years, MT group ( n = 10), placebo group ( n = 10) Nocturnal oral MT (5 mg) or placebo ingestion in a double-blind manner Intensive 6-day training-repeated sprint ability test: sprints 6 × 40 m with a 20 s of passive recovery between repetitions Decreased resting OS markers: AOPP, leukocytosis and CK. Decreased post-exercise leukocytosis and markers of cellular damage (CK, ASAT, ALAT), increased GPx and GR activities in MT-treated group vs placebo group Nocturnal MT intake during intensive training decreased OS, leukocytosis, cellular damage, and improved exercise performance LY lymphocytes, WBC white blood cells, NE neutrophils, CRP C-reactive protein, CK creatine kinase, LDH lactate dehydrogenase, ASAT aspartate aminotransferase, MDA malonaldehyde, LDL low-density lipoprotein, maximal oxygen uptake, ALAT alanine aminotransferase, CHO formaldehyde, ORAC oxygen radical absorption capacity, LPO ...…”

“…These observational studies differ from one another mainly in terms of MT timing: taking MT before exercise [ 115 – 121 ] or before bedtime [ 122 – 125 ] and its dose, exercise type, intensity, duration and timing, and training level. The most common types of sport training in these studies are cycle ergometer, treadmill exercise or running, in which individuals mainly engaged in maximal or submaximal exercise.…”

“…Three of 11 presented studies [ 119 , 120 , 125 ] also examined effects of MT supplementation on exercise performance, finding its improvement in the two reported studies [ 119 , 125 ]. In turn, a study by Souissi et al [ 121 ] tested the effect of MT supplementation on inflammation induced by exercise at 60% , i.e., the lowest value of the maximum rate of O 2 consumption for exercise classified as high intensity.…”

A Practical Approach to Monitoring Biomarkers of Inflammation and Muscle Damage in Youth Soccer Players During a 6‐Month Training Cycle

“…An elevated WBC count most often indicates an existing infection or inflammation, while a shift between different leukocyte fractions may be due to physical exercise ( Anđelković et al, 2015 ), or may be a symptom of insufficient post-exercise recovery ( Shek et al, 1995 ). In soccer, the WBC count is mainly used to identify acute fatigue and post-exercise recovery ( Farjallah et al, 2020 ; Mohr et al, 2016 ). Granulocyte to lymphocyte (GLR), lymphocyte to monocyte (LMR) and platelet to lymphocyte (PLR) ratios are sometimes calculated to determine the degree of development of inflammation in the body.…”