Ammonium Salts Increase Physical Performance and Reduce Blood Lactate Level in Rats in a Model of Forced Swimming

We compared the effects of two doses of ammonium chloride and ammonium carbonate (10 and 20 mg/kg) on the duration of swimming and blood lactate level. Ammonium chloride in a dose of 20 mg/kg was more efficient than in a dose of 10 mg/kg. The efficiency of ammonium carbonate in a dose of 10 mg/kg was similar to that of ammonium chloride in a dose of 20 mg/kg. Increasing the dose of ammonium carbonate to 20 mg/kg led to a decrease in the duration of swimming. On the last day of the experiment, lactate level in 5 min after exhausting load was maximum in control rats, while in rats treated with 10 mg/kg ammonium carbonate and 20 mg/kg ammonium chloride it was lower by 27 and 33%, respectively. In the control group, the amplitude of the decrease in lactate concentration in 1 h after load was 2-fold greater than in the group receiving ammonium chloride in a dose of 20 mg/kg and 1.6-fold greater that in groups treated with ammonium carbonate in a dose of 10 mg/kg and ammonium chloride in a dose of 20 mg/kg.