Serum metabolomic adaptations following a 12‐week high‐intensity interval training combined to citrulline supplementation in obese older adults

Abstract

Physical activity and nutrition play important roles in preventing adverse health outcomes that accompany aging. It has been shown that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) combined with citrulline (CIT) supplementation can improve physical and functional capacities. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum metabolites following a 12-week HIIT combined or not with CIT in obese older adults, and to correlate the metabolic changes with clinico-biological parameters changes. Eighty-six obese older adults completed a 12-week HIIT program combined with a 10 g daily supplementation of either CIT or placebo (PLA) during a double-blinded randomized interventional trial. Only participants with blood samples at T0 (before the intervention) and/or T12 (after the intervention) were included in our sub-analysis (HIIT-PLA-T0: n = 44 and HIIT-PLA-T12: n = 28; HIIT-CIT-T0: n = 39 and HIIT-CIT-T12: n = 42). Serum samples were analyzed by different liquid or gas phase chromatography methods coupled to mass spectrometry. Among the identified metabolites, 44 changed significantly following the 12-week intervention (Time effect), and 10 of them were more affected when HIIT was combined with CIT (Time × Supp effect). Arginine increased significantly due to the 12-week intervention. Correlation analyses demonstrated that decreased triglyceride (TG) (16:1/18:1/16:0) and aspartic acid significantly correlated with a reduction of adiposity-related parameters (fat mass, leg lean mass, leptin, total triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein). Arginine, TG (16:1/18:1/16:0) and aspartic acid might constitute biomarkers of cardiometabolic health and adiposity. Further studies are needed to confirm these associations and understand the underlying mechanisms.

The Combined Effects of High-Intensity Interval Exercise Training and Dietary Supplementation on Reduction of Body Fat in Adults with Overweight and Obesity: A Systematic Review

“…The majority of the analysed scientific articles demonstrated statistically significant effects of HIIT and DS on BF and induced a reduction of %FAT, body fat mass, BMI, or waist-to-hip ratio [32,33,36,[39][40][41][42][43][44]. On the contrary, two investigations [35,37] did not find any effects of HIIT combined with DS on BF in older adults with overweight and obesity.…”

“…Its serum concentration positively correlates with BF mass, and leptin resistance is another feature of obesity and type 2 diabetes [55]. In the current review, only one study assessed the effects of HIIT + DS on leptin [44]. The authors found that HIIT consisting of 30 min exercise sessions combined with citrulline (an amino acid) significantly reduced serum leptin in older adults with obesity and HIIT+ citrulline-induced effects were more profound compared to HIIT alone [44].…”

“…Adipokine dysregulation is observed in obesity and contributes to obesity-related disorders [46]. In the current review, five studies [32,37,[42][43][44] assessed the effects of HIIT + DS on blood adipokines and insulin homeostasis and four of them found beneficial modifications [32,[42][43][44]. Whereas the effects of HIIT alone or in combination with DS on fasting glucose and insulin, as the indicators of insulin resistance, without the effects of HIIT + DS on adipokines were assessed by two studies [35,41], which, interestingly, had chosen similar HIIT protocols and vitamin D 3 supplementation.…”

“…Apart from the 40-m shuttle run, other HIIT protocols had been implemented in the reviewed studies. Some of them used longer HIIT sessions, lasting between 30 and 60 min [42][43][44], whilst others focused on much shorter sessions [32,40] lasting between 8 and 30 s. Regardless of its duration, each HIIT session combined with DS (see Table 2) has been found effective in improving the body composition of participants with overweight and obesity, especially in reducing their BF. Regarding the duration of HIIT, shorter (6-week) and longer (up to 12 week) HIIT programmes were as effective in reducing BF in individuals with overweight and obesity.…”

“…In the current review, only one study assessed the effects of HIIT + DS on leptin [44]. The authors found that HIIT consisting of 30 min exercise sessions combined with citrulline (an amino acid) significantly reduced serum leptin in older adults with obesity and HIIT+ citrulline-induced effects were more profound compared to HIIT alone [44]. Reduction of leptin in response to HIIT + citrulline was accompanied by a significant reduction in the total android BF mass and a tendency for increased adiponectin, the results not observed in response to HIIT alone.…”