| Abstract: | Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of melatonin administration on muscle glycogen concentration during recovery after exhaustive swimming exercise in sedentary and trained rats. Male Wistar rats were assigned to one of four groups: sedentary control (C), sedentary melatonin-injected (M), exercise-trained (T), and trained and melatonin-injected (MT) groups. Exercise-trained groups were subjected to six weeks of swimming exercise. All rats completed an exhaustive swimming exercise. Two daily subcutaneous injections of melatonin at a dose of 3 mg·kg?1 were given to the rats in the M and MT groups immediately after the exhaustive exercise. Plasma melatonin, glucose and lactate concentrations, and glycogen concentrations of the soleus and epitrochlearis muscle tissues were measured after exhaustive exercise. Plasma lactate concentration was significantly lower in the T and MT groups than in the C group. Plasma melatonin concentration was higher in the supplemented groups than in the C group. Plasma glucose concentration was significantly higher in the T and MT groups than in the C group. Both epitrochlearis and soleus muscle glycogen concentrations were higher in the trained groups than in the C group. In conclusion, although exercise training results in improvement in muscle glycogen, exogenous melatonin administration after exhaustive exercise did not restore the glycogen concentrations in fast- or slow-twitch muscle tissues. |
