Evaluation of free and bound carnitine in young athletes

The study of the characteristics of carnitine metabolism in representatives of certain sports makes it possible to study the effect of physical loads of various nature on the body of a young athlete, and also makes it possible to assess the competitive potential and predict the tolerance of long-term and intense loads. Purpose. This study is to investigate the characteristics of carnitine metabolism in young athletes of various specializations. Material and methods. The study included athletes aged 14 to 18 who had been engaged in intense physical exercise for at least 12 hours per week forthe past 12 months or more. The control group consisted of healthy children aged 14 to 18 who were not involved in sports. In the blood serum of all study participants, the concentration of free carnitine, acetylcarnitine and acylcarnitines was determined. Based on the data obtained, ratios were calculated reflecting the activity of lipid beta-oxidation enzymes. Results. We found that the content of free carnitine in the representatives of all the studied groups was within the normal range. At the same time, the level of free carnitine in the blood of athletes involved in field hockey was significantly lower than that of athletes-swimmers and representatives of the control group (p<0.001). It was also studied that, compared with athletes-swimmers and the control group, athletes-hockey players have significantly higher functional activity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (p<0.05) and lipid beta-oxidation enzymes (p<0.001). Conclusion. In our work we have demonstrated that athletes involved in team sports (field hockey) have a more pronounced shift towards fatty acid oxidation compared to aerobic sports (swimming). A possible reason for the identified changes may be a more significant effect of alternating aerobic and anaerobic loads on lipid metabolism compared to exclusively aerobic activity.