Metabolomic signatures of high-intensity and sprint interval exercise/training in humans: a systematic review

Exercise metabolomics investigates how physical activity alters the metabolome, with responses depending on exercise type, intensity, and duration. Intermittent high-intensity to supramaximal exercise produces unique metabolomic effects that remain inadequately addressed in the literature.

This study aimed to (i) conduct a systematic review of publications on metabolomics, applied to high-intensity interval exercise or training (HIIE/HIIT) or sprint interval exercise or training (SIE/SIT) protocols in humans and (ii) provide an overview of the most characteristic metabolomic changes induced by these types of exercise.

A total of 20 studies met the inclusion criteria, with a variety of participants, biological samples, sampling procedures, and metabolomic analysis techniques. Pathway analysis revealed that the affected pathways were mostly related to carbohydrate, lipid, and amino acid metabolism. The tricarboxylic acid cycle and purine degradation were also considerably affected. Most metabolites were upregulated by HIIE/HIIT and SIE/SIT. Our analysis revealed strong and wide metabolomic changes with HIIE/HIIT or SIE/SIT, with substrate utilization for energy production emerging as a recurring theme. Such results suggest that the metabolic changes caused by exercise cannot be covered by a single analytical technology and underline the importance of reproducibility and the need for better control of modulating/confounding factors in future studies.