Metabolomics-Based Analysis of Banana and Pear Ingestion on Exercise Performance and Recovery

Bananas and pears vary in sugar and
phenolic profiles, and metabolomics
was utilized to measure their influence on exercise performance and
recovery. Male athletes (N = 20) cycled for 75 km while consuming
water (WATER), bananas (BAN), or pears (PEAR) (0.6 g carbohydrate/kg
each hour) in randomized order. UPLC-MS/MS and the library of purified
standards maintained by Metabolon (Durham, NC) were used to analyze
metabolite shifts in pre- and postexercise (0-h, 1.5-h, 21-h) blood
samples. Performance times were 5.0% and 3.3% faster during BAN and
PEAR versus WATER (P = 0.018 and P = 0.091, respectively), with reductions
in cortisol, IL-10, and total leukocytes, and increases in blood glucose,
insulin, and FRAP. Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA)
showed a distinct separation between trials immediately (R2Y = 0.877, Q2Y = 0.457) and 1.5-h postexercise (R2Y = 0.773, Q2Y = 0.441). A total of 107 metabolites
(primarily lipid-related) increased more than 2-fold during WATER,
with a 48% and 52% reduction in magnitude during BAN and PEAR recovery
(P < 0.001). Increases in metabolites unique to
BAN and PEAR included fructose and fruit constituents, and sulfated
phenolics that were related to elevated FRAP. These data indicate
that BAN and PEAR ingestion improves 75-km cycling performance, attenuates
fatty acid utilization and oxidation, and contributes unique phenolics
that augment antioxidant capacity.