Attenuation of postexercise ketosis in fasted endurance-trained rats

Endurance-trained animals and human subjects have been reported to exhibit a lesser degree of postexercise ketosis than nontrained controls. We have studied the mechanism of this adaptation. Trained (2 h/day, 6 wk) and nontrained rats were fasted overnight and then run at 16 m/min up a 15% grade for 90 min. Trained rats had lower blood 3-hydroxybutyrate during exercise and during a 90-min postexercise period than nontrained rats. Liver malonyl coenzyme A (CoA), carnitine, and glycogen were not significantly different in the two groups at any time during and after exercise. Therefore these factors cannot be responsible for the difference in ketonemia. Plasma free-fatty acids and hepatic adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate were elevated in nontrained rats with respect to trained rats. These two differences could conceivably be responsible for a different ketogenic rate. In addition, 3-ketoacid CoA transferase activity of gastrocnemius muscle was increased by training. The increase in ketone oxidizing enzymes of muscle may also be partially responsible for the training-induced attenuation of postexercise ketonemia in these fasted rats.