A Study of the Effect of Dietary Supplement Use in Bodybuilders and Its Relationship to Liver Function and Some Physiological and Biochemical Variables

Background: The improved physical performance of bodybuilders following supplement use was associated with changes in laboratory indices. Although these supplements are sometimes associated with both positive and negative effects. Aims of study: to evaluated effects of several regularly consumed supplements in bodybuilders on the liver function and some physiological and biochemical characteristics. Materials and Methods: Ninety male volunteers were divided into three groups for the study. The first group was made up of male bodybuilders who use creatine supplements. The second group consists of bodybuilders who use Whey protein supplements. Those that don't engage in bodybuilding comprise the third group, referred to as the control group. the serum to assess liver function, including AST (GOT) and ALT (GPT) estimations. Additionally, a range of hormones, including testosterone, LH, and FSH, were measured using the Chemistry Analyzer Smart-150 apparatus (GenoTEK, USA) and commercial kits (Biolab, France) for the lipid profile test. The levels of MDA in the serum were evaluated using the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method developed by Buege and Aust. As well as The concentration of reduced glutathione (GSH) was measured using Ellman’s technique, as described by Ellman in 1959. Results: The supplemental assessment revealed a significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.03), with whey protein users having higher mean values (28.3 ± 4.2) compared to creatine users (16.7 ± 1.8). In a similar vein, blood pressure varied significantly between the study groups (P = 0.02), with the whey protein group having the highest mean value (13.7 ± 0.8), followed by the creatine group (12.8 ± 0.6), and the control group (10.3 ± 0.4). The mean diGOTolic blood pressure values for the whey creatine, protein, and control groups were 8.2±0.5, 7.9±0.3, and 8.7±0.4, respectively. Conclusion: Findings indicate that bodybuilding supplementation, particularly with whey protein and creatine, is associated with significant alterations in several biochemical and hormonal parameters compared with the control group. Supplementation is associated with measurable changes in liver function, lipid metabolism, hormonal profile, and oxidative stress, with distinct effects observed between whey protein and creatine users. Careful monitoring of supplement intake, dosage, and duration is recommended to minimize potential adverse metabolic effects.