The effects of glutamine on serum LDH and CK in rats following a session of resistance activity

Muscle pain after resistance activities, which occurs due to the destruction of sarcolema, increases the serum levels of LDH and CK enzymes as indicators of muscle damage. The results have shown that the use of food supplements such as glutamine can be useful in reducing the serum indicators of muscle damage. The aim of the present study is to determine the effect of glutamine supplementation on serum indicators of muscle damage, including the serum levels of LDH and CK enzymes following a session of resistance activity. The present experimental study was carried out using an animal model in the form of a 3 group’s research design with a control group. To this end, 30 six-week-old adult male Wistar rats were kept under controlled conditions for 2 weeks and were then divided into three equal groups, including control, and resistance activity with/ without glutamine supplementation. The glutamine supplementation group received the prepared emulsion by gavage of 200 mg/kg of body weight. After five days, both experimental groups participated in a session of resistance activity (namely, climbing a smooth ramp with one and a half meters height and a 85° decline) with 4 sets, 5 repetitions, 30 seconds of rest between repetitions and 2 minutes of rest between sets. The initial load was considered equal to 50% of the rats' body weight. One-way analysis of variance and Bonferroni's post hoc test were used at a significance level of p ≥ 0.05. The levels of CK and LDH enzymes were different in groups. A five-day glutamine supplementation before performing a session of resistance activity can cause a lower increase in the serum levels of CK and LDH enzymes as serum indicators of muscle damage, which indicates the protective effect of glutamine in maintaining the integrity and structure of cell membrane.