Effect of spirulina food supplement on blood morphological parameters, biochemical composition and on the immune function of sportsmen

Of highest biological value are natural concentrates of optimally combined substances produced by nature. One of food supplements of this kind is dietary Spirulina produced by the Tianshi firm (China). It is a most rationally balanced food supplement of a high biological value; it satisfies the needs of the whole body, including its immune system. The aim of the current work was to assess the effect of the multicomponent natural food supplement Spirulina on the physical development, blood morphological, biochemical picture and immune function of sportsmen. Materials and Methods: The study cohort comprised 12 high performance sportsmen (age 20-22 years). They were using tablets of Spirulina, a dietary product for 14 days. Physical development was determined with the aid of standard methods. The general blood picture was analyzed with the aid of a Micros-60 hematological analyzer (company ABX DIAGNOSTICS, France). Lymphocytes and their subsets were analysed by flow cytometery (FACSCalibur, Becton Dickinson Immunocytometry Systems (BDIS, USA) and the absolute and percentage values were calculated. To evaluate immune function lymphocyte blasttransformation response to mitogens was studied. Results: Investigations carried out on endurance-training sportsmen showed that a 14-d administration of Spirulina exerted a positive effect on blood morphological composition indices and its biochemical changes. The results of our study confirm the positive effect of Spirulina food supplement on the quantitative parameters of immune system. Part of the study cohort after weeks showed a tendency of normalizing CD3 , CD3 CD4 lympocite count: positive changes were still present two weeks following the interruption of Spirulina intak

Comparative analysis of physical development and functional capacity of different sports athletes during competition period

The aim of this study was to compare physical fitness of high performance canoeists, rowers, Greek-Roman style wrestlers, basketball players and skiers during their competition period. Indices of physical development, muscle and fat mass and their ratios were obtained. Single muscular contraction power (SMCP) and anaerobic alactic muscular power (AAMP) were also measured. The anaerobic glycolytic power (AGP) was estimated by ergometer. The Bosco methodology was used to estimate the activity of fast twitch fibres (FTF). The psychomotor response time (PRT) and movement frequency (MF) per 10 s were estimated and Roufier index (RI) was applied to measure functional capacity of circulatory and respiratory systems. The examination of athletes specialising in five different sports allowed for identification of the peculiarities of sports specialisation. The distinctive height, highest body weight and static hand power values characterised rowers and basketball players; while canoeists had the highest muscle mass. Only canoeists achieved high SMCP during the competition period. The SMCP of rowers and skiers was optimal, whereas the basketball players and wrestlers demonstrated an insufficient single muscular contraction power. The highest anaerobic alactic muscle power was observed in basketball players and canoeists, whereas in the muscles the basketball players and wrestlers the activity of FTF was insufficient. Though its parameters were approximate to endurance-trained rowers, they considerably fell behind those of canoeists. The functional capacity of circulatory and respiratory system of skiers was highest. The research revealed that the majority of indices of skiers and wrestlers’ physical fitness were lowest among the other studied athletes. Such results reflect their limited potential to achieve high results in international competitions