Metabolic time-course response after resistance exercise: A metabolomics approach

This study analysed the time course of the global metabolic acute response after resistance exercise (RE), with the use of proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopy. Ten young healthy males performed 4 sets of 10 repetitions at 70% of one-repetition maximum in the leg press and knee extension exercises and had the serum metabolome assessed at 5, 15, 30 and 60 min post-RE. Measurements were also performed 1 h earlier and immediately before the exercises, as an attempt to characterise each participant’s serum metabolome at rest. One-way ANOVA was applied and the significance level was set at P ≤ 0.05. RE promoted an increase in 2-hydroxybutyrate, 2-oxoisocaproate, 3-hydroxyisobutyrate, alanine, hypoxanthine, lactate, pyruvate and succinate concentrations. However, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, ornithine and valine had their concentrations decreased post-RE compared with at rest. This is the first study to show significant changes in serum concentration of metabolites such as 2-oxoisocaproate, 2-hydroxybutyrate, 3-hydroxyisobutyrate, lysine, hypoxanthine and pyruvate post-RE, attesting metabolomics as an interesting approach to advance in the understanding of global RE-induced metabolic changes. Moreover, the present data could influence the time point of blood collection in the future studies that aims to investigate metabolism and exercise.