Análise metabolômica e sua associação com a carga externa em jogadores profissionais de futebol

Abstract

Football is a sport that requires intermittent efforts of high intensity with longer periods of low-intensity activity during matches. The physical demands of the sport vary depending on the player's specific position and their role on the field. Therefore, managing external and internal load is essential to optimize training and recovery processes in an individualized manner, respecting the demands of each role during the match. The present study aims to assess the capability of metabolomics to identify differences between the positions of professional football players, associated with the effects of different external loads following match play. This is a descriptive observational longitudinal study that included 12 professional football players, with a sample of 49 individual observations obtained from six matches in the season. The studied positions were defined as: central defenders (CD), wing backs (WB), central midfielders (CM), wide or lateral midfielders (WM), and strickes (ST). Training load data (external and internal) were divided by playing position (CD=9; WB=9; CM=14; WM=12; ST=5). External loads were determined using a ground positional system (GPS) device, while metabolomics by NMR in urine was conducted through the collection of urine samples from players 24 hours after the six football matches, used as a potential internal load metric. The metabolomic approach was nontargeted/global, performed by NMR. Multivariate analyses were conducted, generating score and loading plots from partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The external training load metrics differed by playing position, with CM players showing higher values of total distance, relative distance, player load, and distance under 20 km/h; CD players having the highest maximum speed; and WB players exhibiting greater sprint distance. 24 hours after the matches, the metabolites with the highest VIP-scores were: methylguanidine, trimethylamine, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, pyruvate, glucose, formate, glycine, dimethylglycine, tyrosine, and uracil. The findings indicated alterations in carbohydrate metabolism and the TCA cycle, amino acids and peptides, pyrimidines, and ketone body pathways, discriminating a recovery metabolic profile after the match depending on the player's position. Thus, CM metabolic profileswere more related to muscle damage, inflammatory markers, while WB and CD were associated with energy metabolism and oxidative stress. The study highlights the importance of a personalized approach in monitoring load and recovery, considering the specific demands of each playing position.