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

Abstract

Melatonin has been proved to have positive effects on cellular damage and metabolic regulation. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of melatonin supplementation during an intensive training period on physical performance decline, oxidative stress and cellular damage state. The investigation was conducted on 20 soccer players who participated in an exhaustive six-day training schedule associated with daily 5 mg oral melatonin or placebo ingestion. Resting blood samples and physical performance were measured before and after the training period. The mixed 2-way ANOVA (group x training camp) showed that compared to placebo, melatonin intake prevented an increase in advanced oxidation protein products (p>0.05) and increased the antioxidant enzyme activity (i.e., superoxide dismutase; p<0.001). In addition, melatonin prevented an increase of biomarkers of renal function (e.g., creatinine; p>0.05) and biomarkers of muscle (e.g., creatine kinase; p>0.05) and liver (e.g., gamma-glutamyltransferase; p>0.05) damage. Furthermore, melatonin alleviated the deterioration in physical performance (countermovement jump, five-jump test and 20-m sprint; p>0.05). In conclusion, the obtained data showed increased oxidative stress and renal, muscle and liver damage in professional soccer players during an exhaustive training schedule. Melatonin intake during the training period exerts beneficial effects on physical performance and protects tissues against the deleterious effects of reactive oxygen species and cellular damage.

Supplement Consumption by Elite Soccer Players: Differences by Competitive Level, Playing Position, and Sex

“…In soccer, melatonin is often used to improve sleep hygiene and mitigate the negative effects of jet lag after international travel [5]. Several studies have evaluated the impact of melatonin on elite male soccer players, both adult and youth, with promising results [65][66][67][68][69][70][71]. However, there is a lack of research on the effects of melatonin on female soccer players.…”

Impact of Melatonin Supplementation on Sports Performance and Circulating Biomarkers in Highly Trained Athletes: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…However, 13 studies [38][39][40][41][48][49][50][51][52][53][54]57,58] obtained "low risk" in five of the seven domains analyzed. Seven studies [42,43,52,53,[56][57][58] were rated "high risk" of bias and 14 studies [38][39][40][41][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]54,55] had "unclear risk" noted. The most common problems were: (i) Allocation concealment (selection bias); (ii) Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) (Figure 2).…”

“…The most common problems were: (i) Allocation concealment (selection bias); (ii) Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) (Figure 2). Only one study justified the chosen sample size [44]. in this systematic review were rated as overall "low risk" of bias.…”

Protective Role of Melatonin for Acute Kidney Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Three RCTs (22,23,25) reported the effect of melatonin on serum BUN as the primary outcome. They all met our inclusion criteria.…”

“…Melatonin may prevent unilateral ureteral occlusioninduced kidney damage in rats through lowering oxidative stress (21). However, there are still few clinical trials investigating the relationship between melatonin and AKI (22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28). In addition, the conclusions drawn in existing clinical studies are still inconsistent.…”