The effects of acetylsalicylic acid upon carbohydrate metabolism during exercise

The effects of acute acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) ingestion upon carbohydrate metabolism during a 60 min treadmill moderate intensity exercise (50% VO2max) were studied in eleven normal females. A double-blind crossover design was used to compare the experimental findings with placebo. No significant differences were noted during the exercise protocol in glucose, insulin, glucagon and free fatty acid utilization between placebo/exercise and acetylsalicylic acid/exercise treatment. A significant post-exercise hypoinsulinemic and antilipolytic effect occurred with ASA/exercise treatment (p less than 0.05). In addition, post-exercise glucagon levels remained unchanged with ASA, whereas a significant plasma glucagon increase was noted with placebo (p less than 0.05). These data suggest that a prophylactic acetylsalicylic acid/exercise regimen will not adversely affect gluco-regulatory and counter-regulatory metabolism during exercise and could therefore, be safely instituted as an adjunct preventive therapy.