Metabolomic profiling of elite female soccer players: urinary biomarkers over a championship season

• Published in: Metabolomics Vol. 20; no. 5; p. 101
• Main Authors: Gouveia, Maria Mariana Sabino, do Nascimento, Maria Beatriz Augusto, Crispim, Alessandre Carmo, da Rocha, Edmilson Rodrigues, dos Santos, Maryssa Pontes Pinto, Bento, Edson de Souza, De Aquino, Thiago Mendonça, Balikian, Pedro, Rodrigues, Natália Almeida, Ataide-Silva, Thays, de Araujo, Gustavo Gomes, Sousa, Filipe Antonio de Barros
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 05-09-2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Athletes; Biochemistry; Biomarkers - urine; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brazil; Cell Biology; Developmental Biology; Dimethylglycine; Energy metabolism; Female; Females; Glycolic acid; Humans; Life Sciences; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy - methods; Metabolites; Metabolome; Metabolomics; Metabolomics - methods; Molecular Medicine; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Original Article; Protein turnover; Soccer; Soccer - physiology; Trimethylamine; Young Adult; Brazil; Elite athletes; Metabolomics; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Soccer
• ISSN: 1573-3890; 1573-3882; 1573-3890
• DOI: 10.1007/s11306-024-02164-5

Introduction
In soccer, most studies evaluate metabolic profile changes in male athletes, often using data from a single match. Given the current landscape of women’s soccer and the effects of biological sex on the physiological response and adaptation to exercise, more studies targeting female athletes and analyzing pre- and post-game moments throughout the season are necessary.
Objectives
To describe the metabolomics profile of female soccer athletes from an elite team in Brazil. The study observed the separation of groups in three pre- and post-game moments and identified the discriminating metabolites.
Methods
The study included 14 female soccer athletes. Urine samples were collected and analyzed using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in pre-game and immediate post-game moments over three national championship games. The metabolomics data were then used to generate OPLS-DA and VIP plots.
Results
Forty-three metabolites were identified in the samples. OPLS-DA analyses demonstrated a progressive separation between pre-post conditions, as supported by an increasing Q
2
value (0.534, 0.625, and 0.899 for games 1, 2 and 3, respectively) and the first component value (20.2% and 19.1% in games 1 and 2 vs. 29.9% in game 3). Eight out of the fifteen most discriminating metabolites appeared consistently across the three games: glycine, formate, citrate, 3-hydroxyvalerate, glycolic acid, trimethylamine, urea, and dimethylglycine.
Conclusion
The main difference between the three games was the increasing separation between groups throughout the championship. Since the higher VIP-scores metabolites are linked to energy and protein metabolism, this separation may be attributed several factors, one being the accumulation of fatigue.