Different training sessions impact on serum protein profile of Saudi professional soccer players

Serum proteins serve as biomarkers for athletes and recreationally active individuals; they reflect the positive nitrogen growth balance alongside the onset of fatigue.

To investigate the impact of training sessions on serum proteins is crucial to monitor their impact on athletes' future performance.

A cross-sectional study to compare serum blood protein biomarker (albumin blood, blood urea nitrogen, total protein, uric acid, and creatinine), in 43 young Saudi professional soccer players in Riyadh, levels were measured pre- and post-training sessions across a 3-day period.

Significant differences were found between training sessions from day 1 to day 3 in addition to the significant differences between post- and pre-training sessions with P > 0.05. Creatinine levels increased significantly in the players' blood samples post-training on all 3 days of training (P = 0.01). Albumin was the only serum protein biomarker that showed no significant changes pre- and post-training, while albumin levels varied by a statistically significant amount (P = 0.02) between pre-training (day 1 and day 2) and post-training (day 1 and day 3) periods.

As biomarkers, serum proteins may provide good indicators that can be used to organize training schedules to achieve optimal outcomes. In this study, creatinine was the most sensitive biomarker measured post-training; it can be considered a critical biomarker while blood urea was the least sensitive.