Acceleration of aerobic adaptation by inclusion of appropriate additives in the diet of rats subjected to submaximal physical exercises.
In order to study the effect of long-term use of specific food formulas with different compositions on the aerobic adaptation of body to submaximal exercise 16 white Wistar rats were randomly assigned to two experimental groups. Group A animals were fed a mixture of 76% of standard food and 24% of a special, high-fat and high-protein formula designed for endurance athletes; Group B rats were given a mixture of 76% of standard food and 24% of the widely available low-fat formula Aufbau Konzentrat. All animals were subjected to a special training programme. Their submaximal endurance was determined at the end of weeks 2, 4, 6 and 8. During week 9 a test was performed to measure the maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max). At the end of the experiment the submaximal running endurance of group A animals was 190.96 +/- 28.72% compared with baseline vs. 158.70 +/- 26.18% for group B animals. The maximum O2 consumption of group A animals was significantly higher than that of group B animals (85.06 +/- 8.81 and 75.77 +/- 4.91 ml O2.kg(-1).min(-1), respectively). The respiratory quotient (RQ) study showed predominant utilisation of fats as a source of energy for the physical work of group A animals after being 8 weeks on the diet. On the basis of the analysis of the composition of the consumed food we conclude that long-term (8 wk) use of combined, relatively high-fat food formulae mixed with appropriate fat-acid and amino acid ingredients as additives accelerates aerobic adaptation of the body under conditions of regular submaximal exercise.
Boyadjiev
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Department of Physiology, University of Medicine, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests