Influence of course reception of superoxide dismutase on the parameters of aerobic and anaerobic performance of qualified athletes
Objective: to evaluate the ability of the drug SOD, when administered orally to athletes, to affect the performance of their aerobic and anaerobic performance. Materials and methods: 8 basketball players and 8 swimmers with the level of sports qualification not lower than 1 adult category took part in the work as subjects. To assess the effects of SOD use, three times (before the beginning of SOD administration; 7 and 14 days after the start of SOD administration), standard tests were carried out in the following way: anthropometric measurements and the background level of physiological parameters recording; measurement of the maximum anaerobic power in the test on the bicycle ergometer; at least 1 hour of rest; measurement of aerobic performance in ramptest on a bicycle ergometer. Heart rate, external respiration and gas exchange, the content of lactate in the blood were recorded during these tests. Results: 7 days after the start of SOD administration, a decrease in the maximum aerobic performance was found. At the same time, the cost of oxygen per unit of work was reduced in the experimental group after 7 days, but returns to the initial level by the end of the second week of exposure to the drug. Most likely, this fact didn’t indicate a positive effect of SOD on the mechanisms of aerobic energy production. The overall result of anaerobic testing was that in the experimental group, compared with the control group, all the power indices increased, and the temporal parameters decreased. The instantaneous maximum power, the maximum averaged power, as well as the total work in the test per 1 kg of body weight increased. On the contrary, there was a pronounced tendency to reduce the time to reach the maximum power and the time of its retention. Almost all these differences became apparent only after 2 weeks of taking SOD by participants in the experimental group. From this it follows that 1 week is not enough for the manifestation of the full effect of superoxide dismutase on the performance parameters of athletes. Conclusions: 1. The results speak in favor of the assumption that exogenous SOD has a positive effect on the characteristics of anaerobic performance. 2. The results obtained allow us to consider the two-week period as the minimum for obtaining the ergogenic effect of exogenous SOD when taken orally.