EFFECT OF ESTRADIOL ON CARBOHYDRATE UTILIZATION DURING PROLONGED EXERCISE IN RATS

Abstract

Castrated female and sham operated male rats were subjected to 5 h of swimming. Estradiol administred to female rats promotes a supercompensatory pattern of glycogen recovery in the myocardium at the end of the 5th h of exercise. The hormone markedly delayed the glycogen mobilization from the liver during the 1st h of swimming. Glycogen level in biceps femoris muscle was essentially unchanged by estradiol both at rest and during exercise. Estradiol significantly increased glycogen level in masseter muscle of resting rats. Hypoglycemia developing at the end of the 5th h of exercise was less pronounced in the estradiol-treated female rats than in the animals from other groups. Estradiol exerts a sparing effect on carbohydrate reserves during exercise in rats.