High coenzyme Q10 plasma levels improve stress and damage markers in professional soccer players during competition.

Ubiquinol, the reduced form of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), is a key factor in bioenergetics and antioxidant protection. During competition, professional soccer players suffer from considerable physical stress causing high risk of muscle damage. For athletes, supplementation with several antioxidants, including CoQ10, is widely recommended to avoid oxidative stress and muscle damage. We performed an observational study of plasma parameters associated with CoQ10 levels in professional soccer players of the Spanish First League team Athletic Club de Bilbao over two consecutive seasons (n = 24-25) in order determine their relationship with damage, stress and performance during competition. We analyzed three different moments of the competition: preterm, initial phase and mid phase. Metabolites and factors related with stress (testosterone/cortisol) and muscle damage (creatine kinase) were determined. Physical activity during matches was analyzed over the 2015/16 season in those players participating in complete matches. In the mid phase of competition, CoQ10 levels were higher in 2015/16 (906.8 ± 307.9 vs. 584.3 ± 196.3 pmol/mL, p = 0.0006) High levels of CoQ10 in the hardest phase of competition were associated with a reduction in the levels of the muscle-damage marker creatine kinase (Pearsons' correlation coefficient (r) = - 0.460, p = 0.00168) and a trend for the stress marker cortisol (r = -0.252, p = 0.150). Plasma ubiquinol was also associated with better kidney function (r = -0.287, p = 0.0443 for uric acid). Furthermore, high CoQ10 levels were associated with higher muscle performance during matches. Our results suggest that high levels of plasma CoQ10 can prevent muscle damage, improve kidney function and are associated with higher performance in professional soccer players during competition.

Competitive season effects on polyunsaturated fatty acid content in erythrocyte membranes of female football players.

BACKGROUND: An optimal and correctly balanced metabolic status is essential to improve sports performance in athletes. Recent advances in omic tools, such as the lipid profile of the mature erythrocyte membranes (LPMEM), allow to have a comprehensive vision of the nutritional and metabolic status of these individuals to provide personalized recommendations for nutrients, specifically, the essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, individuating deficiencies/unbalances that can arise from both habitual diet and sportive activity. This work aimed to study the LPMEM in professional female football players during the football season for the first time and compare it with those defined as optimal values for the general population and a control group. METHODS: An observational study was carried out on female football players from the Athletic Club (Bilbao) playing in the first division of the Spanish league. Blood samples were collected at three points: at the beginning, mid-season, and end of the season for three consecutive seasons (2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022), providing a total of 160 samples from 40 women. The LPMEM analysis was obtained by GC-FID by published method and correlated to other individual data, such as blood biochemical parameters, body composition, and age. RESULTS: We observed a significant increase in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (p 0.048) and total polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) (p 0.021) in the first season. In the second season, we observed a buildup in the membrane arachidonic acid (AA) (p < .001) and PUFA (p < .001) contents when high training accumulated. In comparison with the benchmark of average population values, 69% of the football players showed lower levels of omega-6 dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA), whereas 88%, 44%, and 81% of the participants showed increased values of AA, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and the ratio of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (SFA/MUFA), respectively. Regarding relationships between blood biochemical parameters, body composition, and age with LPMEM, we observed some mild negative correlations, such as AA and SFA/MUFA ratio with vitamin D levels (coefficient = -0.34 p = .0019 and coefficient = -.25 p = .042); DGLA with urea and cortisol (coefficient = -0.27 p < .006 and coefficient = .28 p < .0028) and AA with age (coefficient = -0.33 p < .001). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, relevant variations in several fatty acids of the membrane fatty acid profile of elite female football players were observed during the competitive season and, in comparison with the general population, increased PUFA contents were confirmed, as reported in other sportive activities, together with the new aspect of DGLA diminution, an omega-6 involved in immune and anti-inflammatory responses. Our results highlight membrane lipidomics as a tool to ascertain the molecular profile of elite female football players with a potential application for future personalized nutritional strategies (diet and supplementation) to address unbalances created during the competitive season.