Bakhtyar Tartibian* and Bagher Rezaei
β-Hydroxy-β-Methylbutyrate Free Acid (HMB-FA) has been reported to improve skeletal muscle recovery after high-intensity exercise and attenuate blood markers of skeletal muscle damage. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effect of HMB-FA supplementation on physiological recovery markers in elite wrestlers. Twenty elite healthy wrestlers (aged 19-26 years) were randomly assigned to Exercise+HMB-FA (EXE+S, n=10) and Exercise+Placebo (EXE+P, n=10) groups for a simulated wrestling protocol. Compared to the EXE+P group, the EXE+S group showed significant decreases in physiological recovery markers such as Creatinine (Cr), 3-Methylhistidine (3-MH), urinary 3-Methylhistidine/Creatinine ratio (3-MH/CR), Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), and Creatine Kinase (CK), with noticeable reductions (p<0.05). Additionally, there were significantly reduce in cortisol, and significant enhancements in Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) and IGF-1/cortisol ratio in the EXE+S group (p<0.05). Finally, the Perceived Recovery Status (PRS) as another physiological recovery marker in the EXE+P group was significantly reduced compared to the EXE+S group (p<0.05), indicating a negative impact on recovery without HMB-FA supplementation. HMB-FA may attenuate muscle damage and improve recovery by modifying the cortisol, IGF-1, and IGF-1/cortisol ratio and increase PRS in the simulated wrestling protocol.
