Abstract
Electrolyte replenishments are largely used by athletes and have become an integral part of sports science. Long duration physical exercise causes loss of water and essential electrolytes resulting in dehydration that hampers athletic performance. Hence hydration is necessary during extended physical exercise. Ergogenic aids are very broad range of physical, pharmacological or other aids including electrolyte and hydration supplementation. The current approaches to supplemental hydration therapy uses isosmotic, electrolyte and sugar solutions which help in hydration better than plain water. However this approach to hydration therapy is limited by high sugar content which can cause gastric distress. Additionally, certain metal ions used for electrolyte replenishment are very poorly absorbed in the GI tract when given in inorganic forms and often fail to correct hyponatremia. These limitations suggest alternative approaches to hydration therapy with focus on electrolyte replenishment, would improve the treatment of exercise-induced dehydration. |Amino acid complexes have been proven to be effective in improving the absorption of various metal ions. Amino acids also play a crucial role in regulating muscle physiology during and after increased muscle exercise. Amino acid-based complexes with metal ions could overcome the current limitations in hydration therapy and also function as ergogenic aids during extended physical exercise. The current research focus is to develop amino acid complexes with physiologically relevant metal ions to promote hydration and be used as ergogenic aids. Amino acid complexes with physiologically relevant metal ions were prepared with glycine, alanine, valine, glutamine, and glutamate with sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. The synthesis parameter were optimized to produce complex yields of up to 90%. Amino acid-metal ion complex formation was demonstrated through a variety of characterization methods, including MS and FTIR. Reaction mixtures were also freeze dried for additional characterization. This report describes the synthesis and characterization of physiologically relevant metal ions complexed with amino acids for the eventual use in hydration and electrolyte replenishment and as ergogenic aids.