Salivary Nitric Oxide and Alpha-Amylase as Indexes of Training Intensity and Load

Abstract

This study examined the variation in salivary nitric oxide (NO), alpha-amylase (sAA) and serum markers of muscle injury during 21 weeks of training in elite swimmers. Samples of saliva and blood were collected once a month during 5 months from 11 male professional athletes during their regular training season. The variation in each marker throughout the 21 weeks was compared with the dynamics of training volume, intensity and load. Unstimulated whole saliva was assessed for NO and sAA whereas venous blood was assessed for lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, and γ-glutamyltransferase. Nitric oxide and sAA showed a proportional response to the intensity of training. However, whereas the concentration of NO increased across the 21 weeks, the activity of sAA decreased. Similar variations in the concentration of NO and the markers of muscle injury were also observed. The higher concentration of NO might be attributed to changes in haemodynamics and muscle regenerative processes. On the other hand, autonomic regulation towards parasympathetic predominance might have been responsible for the decrease in sAA activity. These findings provide appealing evidence for the utilization of salivary constituents in sports medicine to monitor training programmes.

The Physiological Responses to 5000 m Open Water Swimming Exercise in Children

“…49 In another study, it has been indicated that the concentration of NO increased throughout about 5 months of training in elite swimmers (mean aged: 21.5 years). 48 Similar variations were also observed in the salivary NO concentration and muscle injury markers such as CK. Salivary NO levels showed a proportional response to oscillations in training intensity and load.…”

“…It has been reported that both acute and regular aerobic exercise in swimmers and sedentary group increase blood NOx levels. 23,47,48 The best-established stimulus of NO production is shear stress, which increases during increased blood flow and can increase NOS activity. Furthermore, it has been reported that all isoforms of NOS can be regulated by transcription with hypoxia.…”

Analysis of saliva by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for diagnosis of physiological stress in athletes

“…Some biochemical components of saliva have highly specific bands in the infrared region, including those considered important biomarkers to evaluate physical stress (Diaz et al, 2013;Khaustova et al, 2009;Moreira et al, 2013). Khaustova et al (2010) showed that the regions 1503-1440 cm -1 to levels of α-amylase.…”

“…Studies have demonstrated great possibilities of saliva to monitor bodily changes, such as metabolic disorders (Gonnissen et al, 2012), anemia (Jagannathan et al, 2012), DNA markers (Omelia et al, 2013), doping control (Thieme, 2012), and especially the physiological changes in athletes resulting from exercise training (Diaz et al, 2013;Moreira et al, 2013).…”

“…Although there are several studies related to saliva analysis as a powerful diagnostic tool in sports (Diaz et al, 2013;Moreira et al, 2013), the procedure for saliva analysis needs to be standardized for FT-IR measurements. Chiappin et al (2007) reported that the storage temperature of saliva depends on the time required before the analysis, ranging from ~4 °C to -80°C, mainly to prevent degradation of some components and bacterial growth.…”