Carnitine exchange in the assessment of tissue energetics and physical performance of young athletes

Abstract

Objective: to develop prognostic criteria for assessing the physical performance of children engaged in different sports, using the features of carnitine metabolism. Materials and methods: 94 young athletes and 37 students as a control group were included to the study. Indicators such as free and bound carnitine, maximum oxygen consumption (MOC) (as an indicator of physical performance), and the body composition were studied. Results: statistical analysis of the data indicated that the average amount of total carnitine in the group of children engaged in field hockey was lower (45.9±1.6 µmol/l) comparing with the group of representatives of cyclic sports (52.6±1.1 µmol/l) and with the group of control (46.3±1.0 µmol/l). The study of the level of MOC in the abovementioned groups revealed statistically significant differences. Thus, among the field hockey players the average level of absolute MOC was 2.2±0.1 lpm, swimmers – 3.8±0.2 lpm, in the control group – 2.7±0.1 lpm. The study showed significant positive correlation between the level of absolute MOC with total and free carnitine. The data obtained may indicate a greater aerobic performance in athletes with a higher content of free carnitine. Conclusions: thus, after studying the state of carnitine metabolism and maximum oxygen consumption, it becomes possible to predict the state of physical performance of children, which determines the measures to prevent health problems during intense physical activity.