Abstract

A situation called sports anemia is often found in endurance athletes. It seems due to a decrease of iron availability for hemoglobin synthesis. This condition may lead to an increase of total erythrocyte protoporphyrins (FEP) and in its fractions, free type protoporphyrin (FPP) and zinc chelated protoporphyrin (ZnPP). The level of erythrocyte protoporphyrin have been evaluated in a group of 12 amateur runners during the last two months of training for a marathon and before and 24 hours after the end of the race. Blood samples were taken at the start of the study, at the end of every month of training, before and 24 hours after the end of the race. Mean values of FEP; FPP and ZnPP have shown a slight decrease at the end of the first month and an increase at the end of the second month. After the race we found a significant increase in FEP, mainly due to FPP (+ 73.72) rather than to ZnPP (+16.69). The results of our study seem to show that in the training period there was a better erythropoietic function, a hypothesis supported by the course of Hb too. The strong increase in protoporphyrins after the race doesnt seem due to a real iron deficiency, but rather to an imbalance between the rate of eme synthesis and the transfer of ferrous ion to the binding site. Verf.-Referat