Salivary Surrogates of Plasma Nitrite and Catecholamines during a 21-Week Training Season in Swimmers

Abstract

The collection of samples of saliva is noninvasive and straightforward, which turns saliva into an ideal fluid for monitoring the adaptive response to training. Here, we investigated the response of the salivary proteins alpha-amylase (sAA), chromogranin A (sCgA), and the concentration of total protein (sTP) as well as salivary nitrite (sNO2) in relation to plasma catecholamines and plasma nitrite (pNO2), respectively. The variation in these markers was compared to the intensity and load of training during a 21-week training season in 12 elite swimmers. Overall, the salivary proteins tracked the concentration of plasma adrenaline and were inversely correlated with the training outcomes. No correlations were observed between sNO2 and pNO2. However, sNO2 correlated positively with the intensity and load of training. We argue that the decrease in sympathetic activity is responsible for the decrease in the concentration of proteins throughout the training season. Furthermore, the increase in nitrite is likely to reflect changes in hemodynamics and regulation of vascular tone. The association of the salivary markers with the training outcomes underlines their potential as noninvasive markers of training status in professional athletes.

Monitoring the swimmer’s training load: A narrative review of monitoring strategies applied in research

“…Authors of 19 out of the 28 studies reported monitoring parameters of both external and internal training load simultaneously. Three studies assessed external training load, 10,25,26 whereas seven studies exclusively investigated parameters of internal load 27‐33 . The monitoring methods are listed in Table .…”

“…External parameters of training load were monitored in 19 out of 28 studies. Swimming volume was typically obtained and reported as the average distance 10,25‐27,34‐45 or duration 37,39,44,46,47 swam per week or per year. A number of studies also reported the volume of dry‐land exercise in hours per week 34,35,38,40 .…”

Chronic Stress Induces a Hyporeactivity of the Autonomic Nervous System in Response to Acute Mental Stressor and Impairs Cognitive Performance in Business Executives

“…The adaptive stress response involves vagal withdrawal, which leads to an increase in heart rate, and indicates preparedness to respond to the stressor [ 7 ]. If this response is insufficient, the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are activated [ 8 – 11 ]. These responses alter circulation, metabolism, learning and memory allowing the individuals to react to environmental demands [ 12 , 13 ].…”

Salivary Hormones Response to Preparation and Pre-competitive Training of World-class Level Athletes

“…Similarly, subjects exposed to excessive stress could experience immunodepression, which is manifested by decreased levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA), secreted in saliva under autonomic control (Papacosta and Nassis, 2011 ). Interestingly, repeated training sessions have been shown to increase the levels of salivary IgA and AA activity (Born et al, 2015 ) or decrease the salivary CgA concentration (Díaz Gómez et al, 2013 ). Taking together, these elements make saliva a useful, non-invasive, rapid and stress-free alternative to the collection of serum and plasma, allowing for frequent and easy appraisal of stress response.…”