EFFECT OF AN INCREMENTAL EXERCISE TO EXHAUSTION ON PLASMA CONCENTRATIONS OF IRON AND ZINC IN ATHLETES AND NONATHLETES

Abstract

Abstract

Background: Trace elements are mineral nutrients involved in a lot of physiological processes during exercise. Some of the trace elements, such as iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) play a major function in maintaining and regulating many of these processes. The variations in plasma Fe and Zn concentrations are dependent which follow intensity as well as the duration of the activity. Endurance exercise until exhaustion causes various changes in the body. Deficiencies in Fe and Zn can harmfully influence endurance performance.

Objective: The purpose of the current study was to determine the effects of an incremental exercise until exhaustion on the plasma levels of Fe and Zn in athletes and nonathletes.

Methods: Ten elite basketball players (Age: 19.1±0.8 years old, Height: 185.0±6.3 cm, Weight: 71.0±9.8 kg, VO2max: 59.5±7.3 mL.kg-1.min-1) and ten college students (Age: 22.5±3.8 years old, Height: 176.1±7.6 cm, Weight: 67.8±11.4 kg, VO2max: 33.1±8.4 mL.kg-1.min-1) participated as athletes’ group and control group respectively. All trials were conducted at the beginning of a competing season in one week for each group in the Ahvaz city, Khouzestan State, Islamic Republic of Iran. All participants completed 3 separate trials which consisted of maximal oxygen uptake test, a familiarization trial, and an actual trial. They pedaled an incremental exercise to exhaustion in the familiarization (without blood sampling) and actual trials. After a warm–up, the pedaling began on the ergometer at 100 watts and at 60 rpm. Then, the workload was increased gradually to 50 watts every two minutes until exhaustion. The blood samples were drawn three times after the actual trials. Statistical analyses were performed using the IBM SPSS v.25 for Windows.

Results: The results of the current study showed a significant decrease in Fe and Zn immediately and 24 hours after incremental exercise to exhaustion (p<0.05) in both groups. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups of athletes and nonathletes (p>0.05). 

Conclusion: The current study concluded that exhaustive exercise was able to decrease the Fe and Zn status after exercise which may reflect the potential consequences for the dietary requirement of trace elements for physically active inhabitants.