Protein and antioxidants in an isocaloric carbohydrate drink: effect on plasma oxidative-stress markers and IL-6

The purpose of this study was to determine whether an isocaloric beverage with added protein and vitamins (CHOPA) would influence oxidative stress and inflammation after cycling to exhaustion as indicated by plasma protein carbonyls (PC), lipid hydroperoxides (LOOH), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Twelve trained men (18-33 yr) volunteered and performed this randomized crossover study. Participants cycled at 70% VO2peak until fatigue and at 80% VO2peak 22-24 hr later to fatigue with either carbohydrate or CHOPA. Blood collected before the cycling at rest and 24, 48, and 72 hr after the exercise was analyzed for PC and LOOH spectrophotometrically and for IL-6 via an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The data were analyzed with SPSS using repeated-measures ANOVA. PC demonstrated significant treatment (p = .037) and time (p = .004) effects with no Treatment x Time interaction. PC was higher in the CHOPA treatment than with CHO independent of time and increased at 24 (48%), 48 (59%), and 72 (67%) hr after exercise compared with preexercise values. Resting LOOH and IL-6 did not have any significant changes with time or treatment. These data indicate that an isocaloric CHOPA drink after 2 cycling bouts to exhaustion will exacerbate the resting PC level compared with an isocaloric drink, with no influence on plasma LOOH or IL-6. In addition, a modest significant increase in PC over time independent of treatment occurred, which suggests a mild oxidative stress in the days after exhaustive exercise.