Responses of blood and plasma lactate and plasma purine concentrations to maximal exercise and their relation to performance in standardbred trotters.

OBJECTIVE

To study whether end products of 2 pathways of anaerobic energy metabolism, lactate and purines, that accumulate in the blood after intense exercise indicate any relation to exercise performance.

DESIGN

Venous blood samples were taken within 1 and 15 minutes after a trotting race of 2,100 m.

ANIMALS

16 Clinically healthy Standardbred trotters.

PROCEDURE

Blood and plasma lactate concentrations were measured by enzymatic analyzer, and purines, uric acid and allantoin, were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. The concentrations of metabolites were then correlated to racing time and individual performance indexes that are annually calculated from the percentage of winnings, placings, and starts rejected, average earnings per start, and the racing record.

RESULTS

Blood lactate concentration immediately and calculated cell lactate concentration immediately and 15 minutes after the race correlated positively (P < 0.05 to P < 0.01) with the individual performance indexes. Plasma lactate concentration was not correlated to the individual performance indexes. Uric acid concentration, immediately and 15 minutes after the race, was negatively correlated (P < 0.05) to the individual performance indexes, and a positive relation (P < 0.05) was found between the highest concentration of uric acid and the racing time. Concentration of allantoin immediately or 15 minutes after the race did not have any significant correlation to the individual performance indexes.

CONCLUSIONS

Accumulation of lactate in the blood, which was greater in the superior performing horses, may prove to be an useful predictor of anaerobic capacity. The results also indicate that the loss of purine nucleotides was less in the superior performing horses, although further studies are needed to confirm this.