“Fuel for the Damage Induced”: Untargeted Metabolomics in Elite Rugby Union Match Play

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’?

Metabolomics in Team-Sport Athletes: Current Knowledge, Challenges, and Future Perspectives

“…These markers mirror exercise-induced adaptations and increased physical activity [ 57 , 58 ]. In the recent past, Hudson et al [ 59 ] characterized the metabolic perturbations caused by competitive rugby. The authors collected blood, urine, and saliva samples every morning throughout a competitive match week during the early part of the competitive season, and samples were analyzed using NMR.…”

“…After the match, alanine, histidine, and tyrosine levels were reduced, while leucine, 2-hydroxyisocaproate, and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutarate levels were increased, showing the protein breakdown and degradation of this branched-chain amino acid occurred during a game. Of note, two days’ post match, alanine increased significantly, and similarly, 3-methylhistidine and glycylproline, and 4-hydroxyproline, well-known markers of muscle and collagen damage, were increased [ 59 ]. Metabolomics was also applied to identify metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with leukocyte telomere length (LTL), a predictive marker of biological aging.…”

A narrative review of metabolomics in the era of “-omics”: integration into clinical practice for inborn errors of metabolism

“…Similarly, more work is required to compile the “metabolomes” of different populations and ethnic groups around the world for metabolomics to address ethnic specificity of a given disease ( 106 ). One key additional challenge will be “filtering out” metabolite variation seen in normal populations during catabolic stress ( 107 ), to avoid misattribution of normal physiology to an IEM. As point of difference from genomic investigations, reference libraries for metabolite identification are not as well established as genomic reference sequences.…”

Dietary Intakes of Elite Male Professional Rugby Union Players in Catered and Non-Catered Environments

“…During both training and game-play, players are exposed to substantial exercise and impact-induced muscle damage [ 4 , 5 ] and expend considerable amounts of energy during a competition week [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Due to the collisions experienced during a game, players may have additional energy requirements, evident through elevated resting metabolic rates following game-play [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ].…”

“…Currently, the nutritional practices of professional RU players have reported common trends regarding dietary intake. Players consume a relatively low carbohydrate (~3.5 g·kg of Body Mass [BM] per day −1 ), high protein (>2.0 g·kgBM·day −1 ) and moderate-high fat diet (>1.4 g·kgBM·day −1 ) [ 1 , 6 , 10 , 13 , 14 ] compared to nutritional recommendations for team-sport athletes (carbohydrate = 5–8 g·kgBM·day −1 ; protein = 1.7–2.2 g·kgBM·day −1 ; fat = 30–50% of total energy intake) [ 15 , 16 ]. It is recommended that team-sport athletes consume an adequate energy and macronutrient intake in order to offset energy expenditure, increase glycogen stores and repair body tissues [ 15 ].…”