The time course of phosphate metabolites and intracellular pH using 31P NMR compared to recovery heat in rat soleus muscle.

1. The recovery time course of changes in phosphate metabolites and pH, after tetanic contractions of 6 and 9 s were studied using 31P NMR with 4 and 16 s resolution, in rat soleus muscles at 20 degrees C. Muscles were at a sarcomere length of 3.15 microns (active), being greater than optimum for force which was 2.88 microns (active). 2. The post-contraction recovery of chemical changes was compared with the heat production in parallel experiments. Initial and recovery heat production were measured in tetanically stimulated muscles. 3. During recovery from tetanic contractions the changes in phosphocreatine (PCr) matched the changes in inorganic phosphate (Pi). The change in intracellular pH (pHi) was biphasic. The pHi first became more alkaline after contraction and then decreased until it reached a point below the baseline value. There was then a final recovery. 4. The initial heat and recovery heat production were greater than that expected from the PCr hydrolysis estimated during the tetanus and the PCr resynthesis that follows. 5. These data support the presence of 'unexplained heat' during a contraction and its related recovery processes in rat soleus muscle.