The Reasearch on the Anti-Fatigue Effect of Whey Protein Powder in Basketball Training.

In order to observe the effects of whey protein powder on hematological indexes of players majoring in physical education in the basketball training, the authors divided the players randomly into a control group and a nutrition group. Athletes complete the 30 minutes quantitative exercise using cycle ergometer respectively before the trial and after one month trial. Then we exsanguinated immediately after exercise, extracted heparin and measured hemoglobin, red blood cell count, hematocrit and mean corpuscular volume and other hematological indices. The results showed that after taking whey protein powder, the HB, RBC, HCT of nutrition group was significantly higher that the control group. This suggests that in high-intensity training, taking whey protein powder can cause changes of HB, RBC and HCT in human body, meanwhile MCV essentially the same. So whey protein powder can improve exercise capacity, and has anti-fatigue effect.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes

INTRODUCTION

Today's sports have the increasingly high demand for athletes' physical fitness. Common dietary protein quality can not meet the needs of training and competition. The intensity of competitive sports is growing. After the large amount of exercise training, the athletes will have all kinds of fatigue, so we need to be eliminated by scientific means. For sports fatigue problem, in addition to constantly improving training methods, how timely and effective supplement energy substances to improve athletic ability, eliminating sports fatigue as soon as possible, is attracting increasing attention of domestic and foreign scholars.

Whey protein is a class of proteins extracted from milk using advanced technology, is a high quality protein supplements. Its main functions are in [1]:

(1) Whey protein is not only easy to digest, and has a high metabolic efficiency, so that the protein has a high potency bioavailability (utilization of soy protein is 1.7 times).

(2) In any natural protein source it has the highest quality score (26%) containing branched-chain amino acids (such as leucine, isoleucine, valine). In the long endurance branched chain amino acids has unique features which additional amino acids do not own. It can provide energy as the energy source. Whey protein is a good source of sulfur-containing amino acids such as cysteine, methionine.

(3) It can maintain the body's antioxidant levels, and is believed to be stable DNA during cell division.

(4) Whey protein contains a high content of lysine and arginine. They will stimulate muscle growth hormones or anabolic stimulate the secretion and release factors, stimulate muscle growth and reduce fat.

(5) Whey protein glutamine helps muscle glycogen updates and prevent the immune function decline caused due to transitional training.

(6) Whey protein is a good source of highly bioavailable calcium.

Currently, research on whey protein supplements affect the blood parameters of the athletes is still rare. This study will investigate the effect of whey protein on blood indices (HB, RBC, HCT and MCV) of basketball players.

The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, Whey protein powder is summarized briefly. In Section 3, Definition and mechanism of fatigue is described. In Section 4, experiments are presented and the results are discussed. Finally, a conclusion is provided in Section 5.

WHEY PROTEIN POWDER

Whey protein powder is a valuable protein isolated and extracted from milk using of advanced technology, because of its high purity, absorption rate, amino acids and many other advantages the most reasonable, pushed for the "King of the protein".

Whey protein is not only easy to digest, but also has a high biological value, high efficiency, high protein efficiency ratio and high efficiency, is a protein in the boutique. It contains all the essential amino acids needed by the body. The amino acid composition model is almost exactly the same pattern in skeletal muscle amino acid composition, is extremely easy to be absorbed by the body [2].

α- lactalbumin

α- lactalbumin is an excellent source of essential amino acids and branched chain amino acids [3], and is the only whey protein ingredients having the capable of binding to the metal element and calcium. Recent studies have also found that it may have anti-cancer function. In addition lactalbumin and human milk are very similar in amino acid ratio structure, as well as the features. Clinical studies have shown α- lactalbumin enriched infant formula is safe.

α- lactalbumin is about 25% of whey protein, but also is an excellent source of essential amino acids and branched-chain amino acids. It and bovine serum albumin are rich in cysteine residues, can security through the digestive tract and blood into the cell membrane, reduced to two cysteine to synthesize glutathione, maintaining the best glutathione (GSH) levels of cells and tissues. The latter substance is required by the antioxidant defense system, the immune system cells and skeletal muscle cells. α- lactalbumin is the only whey protein component which can combine with the metal, and is the most stable whey protein for thermally. Recent studies have found that it is capable of regulating mammary lactose synthesis and anti-cancer function.

β- lactoglobulin

β- lactoglobulin is the main component of whey protein, accounting for about 50% of whey protein. It has the best amino acid ratio, high content of branched-chain amino acids. Branched chain amino acids leucine is essential, including leucine, valine, and isoleucine. Wherein leucine has strong biological effects, could be the substrate material of glutamine, can also be made directly to the fuel cell. Study confirmed that branched chain amino acid plays an important role in promoting protein synthesis and reducing protein breakdown. Leucine and its oxidation products inhibit proteolytic activity, enabling muscle protein synthesis, increased lean body mass. In endurance during exercise, branched chain amino acid tryptophan into the brain to block the barrier, thereby enhancing the central resistance to fatigue. According to recent research of Southeast Dairy Research Center University of North Carolina, β- lactoglobulin can pre-bind soluble nutrients, such as vitamin A and vitamin E, so as to promote the absorption of people [4] Table .

Serum Protein

Serum protein comes from the blood . The SA separated from milk and the SA in blood have the same chemical and immunological properties [5]. SA synthesizes in the liver with blood concentration of 30 ~ 40g/L; it may transfer into the milk via the mammary cells through specific receptors. SA can be combined with milk thyroxine, zinc and copper. However, SA and IgG can compete newborn pups gastrointestinal carrier, reducing the absorption of IgG of pups.

Lactoferrin

The average concentration of lactoferrin in the milk of 0.01g/100m1. In whey protein product at a concentration of up to 30 ~ 100mg/l of sweet whey [6-9] Lactoferrin content was low, but high biological activity, which activity comprises: anti-bacterial, inhibiting the formation of free radicals, regulate body iron transfer, promote cell growth and enhance immunity, promote the proliferation of bifidobacteria, and as an anti-oxidant.

Efficacy

(1) Provide amino acids necessary for the body structure of the new organization, delay human aging.

(2) Manufacturing enzymes in the body, improve digestion.

(3) Manufacture antibodies against bacteria and infection for the immune system.

(4) Regulate the body's water and electrolyte balance, enhance the body's resistance to fatigue.

(5) Transporting oxygen and nutrients to cells and accelerate the body's repair.

DEFINITION AND MECHANISM OF FATIGUE

Fatigue is the body's complex physiological and biochemical process of change. 1982 the Fifth International Sports Biochemistry Conference defined the fatigue concepts as: "Physiological processes of the body can not continue its function at a particular level or organ can not maintain its predetermined exercise intensity." Activities of the body reaches a certain intensity, sugar and protein substances consume a lot of energy, accumulation of lactic acid and other metabolites, homeostatic disorders, free radical production, destroy the biofilm and thus damage the mitochondria, resulting in ATP activity decreased, insufficient energy supply. At this point fatigue can prevent the body from life-threatening excessive function failure, reminding workers should reduce the intensity of work, in order to avoid or terminate the sports body injury Fig. ().

Fatigue includes sports fatigue and mental fatigue in two ways. For the cause of exercise-induced fatigue, there are many theories, but the most important reason is the free radical damage during exercise. Radical theory that the free radicals generated a lot in body tissue due to ischemia is an important cause of exercise-induced fatigue Fig. (). free radicals directly affect Ca-Mg-ATP enzyme dehydrogenation, causing cytosolic Ca2+ concentration increases, thereby inducing a large number of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake, accumulation, inhibition of cell respiration, reduce the rate of ATP resynthesis for energy, leading to fatigue. free radicals affect the cell membrane, so that the occurrence of lipid peroxidation of phospholipid microenvironment changes, liquid membrane fluidity changes, increased permeability. Fatty acids containing double bonds can generate peroxide malondialdehyde, enabling the formation of cross-linking and polymerization between the membrane elements, and thus the basic characteristics of the film such as allosteric, ion transport, enzyme performance changes, affecting the body's normal physiological metabolism and lead to fatigue Fig. ().

EXPERIMENTAL METHODS AND RESULTS

Research Object

The research object is ten professional basketball athletes of one university. They were randomly divided into two groups: 5 athletes of control group and 5 athletes of nutrition group. The difference of age, height and weight of two groups was not statistically significant.

Experimental Methods

Experimental time was in July 2014. Nutritional group supplies whey protein powder 20 g and oligosaccharides 40 g once every two days, dissolved in 250 mL of whole milk, and eat half an hour before going to bed. Each time with diet and exercise as appropriate increase the amount of food for 1 month. Control group was given 250 mL of whole milk in the same conditions. Two athletes are prohibited other nutritional supplements. Before and after the study, both groups completed the same load cycle ergometer exercise, starting from 40 W, 40 W increased every 5 min, maximum power of 120 W, the total exercise time of 20 min, pedaling speed of 50 r/min. Taken elbow blood 2 mL immediately after exercise, anticoagulated blood, and the inspectors measured RBC, HB, MCT, MCV and other blood indicators by blood cell analyzer.

Data Processing

Data expressed as mean ± standard deviation (x ± s) represent. The formula is as follows:

Experimental Results

From Table , before the experiment, the difference of HB, RBC, HCT and MCV of the control group and the nutrition group was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). But after the experiment, the difference of HB, RBC, HCT and MCV of the control group and the nutrition group was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The MVC of the control group has significant difference (P < 0.05) before and after the experiment, and the difference comparing with the nutrition group after the experiment was statistically significant (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

In order to observe the effects of whey protein powder on hematological indexes of players majoring in physical education in the basketball training, the authors divided the players randomly into a control group and a nutrition group. Athletes complete the 30 minutes quantitative exercise using cycle ergometer respectively before the trial and after one month trial. Venous blood immediately after exercise, heparin doubt, measure hemoglobin (HB), red blood cell count (RBC), hematocrit (HCT) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and other hematological indices. The results showed that after taking whey protein powder, the HB, RBC, HCT of nutrition group was significantly higher that the control group. This suggests that in high-intensity training, taking whey protein powder can cause changes of HB, RBC and HCT in human body, meanwhile MCV essentially the same. So whey protein powder can improve exercise capacity, and has anti-fatigue effect.

Table 1.

Comparison of nutrient components of four proteins (source: american dairy association, european dairy association).

	Whey protein	Milk protein	Casein protein	Soy Protein
Biological value	104	91	77	74
Protein efficiency ratio	3.2	3.1	2.5	2.1
The net utilization	92	82	76	61

Table 2.

Experimental results.

Group	Time	HB	RBC	HCT	MCV
control group	before experiment	155±2.88	4.20±0.28	47.12±2.13	69.36±1.57
	after experiment	159±2.56	4.01±0.35	48.35±3.11	73.44±1.90
nutrition group	before experiment	156±2.59	4.22±0.37	47.85±2.18	70.18±2.10
	after experiment	167±3.50	4.57±0.31	50.22±2.64	68.55±2.34