Department of Ecological and Medical Physiology, Ural Branch, Institute of Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pervomaiskaya av.50, Syktyvkar, 167982, Russia. salu_06@inbox.ru.
One of the topics discussed in sports science is the use of medium-chain saturated fat as an energy-saving nutrient additive when approaching high-intensity exercise. The purpose of this study was to compare the blood concentrations of medium-chain and long-chain fatty acids (FAs) across different intensity loads.
Fifteen male highly trained athletes from the Russian cross-country skiing team participated in the study. Blood samples were drawn at rest, at the peak of veloergometric test with a growing exercise load till exhaustion (97-100% VO2max), and after competitions. The plasma FA profile was determined using gas-liquid chromatography.
We observed a substantial increase in the concentrations of capric acid (?10:0) (+?164.1%), lauric acid (?12:0) (+?223.9%), and myristic acid (?14:0) (+?130.2%) in skiers after a sprint distance (1.3?km). A less intense increase in the concentrations of these acids (p?