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LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in English; abstract also in Chinese. The purpose of this study was to understand the current usage of nutritional supplements in Taiwan elite athletes. This study adopting purposive sampling, we surveyed 105 male and 80 female athletes across sports selected for doping control at the National Athletic Games during year 2007 in Taiwan to understand the athletes’ use of nutritional supplements 14 days prior to the games. Categories of nutritional supplements include vitamin/mineral supplements, amino acid supplements, instant energy supplements, healthcare foods, and drinks. The results indicated 88.1% of the athletes have used nutritional supplements. The usage rates for different categories of nutritional supplements were vitamin/mineral supplements (48.1%), drinks (45.9%), healthcare foods (39.5%), amino acid supplements (31.9%), and instant energy supplements (24.9%). Female athletes had a higher tendency to use vitamin/mineral supplements (55.0% vs. 42.9%) and healthcare foods (47.5% vs. 33.3%) compared to male athletes. Among the sports, weightlifters/bodybuilders and swimmers have all used nutritional supplements (100%), especially the use of creatine for the weightlifters/bodybuilders (69.7%) and multivitamin (76.2%) for the swimmers. In addition, the most consumed types in different categories of nutritional supplements were multivitamins (37.3%) for vitamin/ mineral supplements, creatine (26.5%) for amino acid supplements, chocolate (15.1%) for instant energy supplements, Cordymax Cs-4 Capsules (16.2%) for healthcare foods, and sports drinks (42.4%) for drinks. In conclusion, the results on the current use of nutritional supplements for Taiwan elite athletes could act as a reference to coaches, athletes and sports organizations. 本研究目的在於了解台灣優秀選手使用營養增補劑的現況。本研究採立意抽樣，我們調查了2007年全國運動會(全運會) 期間，105 名男性以及 80 名女性需接受運動禁藥抽檢之選手，以了解其比賽前14天使用營養增補劑的情形。營養增補劑種類包括：維生素/礦物質、胺基酸補給品、即時能量補給品、保健食品，以及飲料類。本研究結果顯示88.1%的運動員有使用營養增補劑。不同種類的營養增補劑中，選手使用率分別為維生素/礦物質 (48.1%)；飲料 (45.9%)；保健食品 (39.5%)；胺基酸補給品 (31.9%)；即時能量補給品 (24.9%)。相較於男性選手，女性選手在維生素/礦物質 (55.0% vs. 42.9%) 與保健食品 (47.5% vs. 33.3%) 的使用率有較高的趨勢。在所有的運動項目中，舉重/健美以及游泳選手營養增補劑的使用率為100%，特別是舉重/健美選手對肌酸 (69.7%)，以及游泳選手對綜合維生素 (76.2%)有較高的使用率。此外，不同種類的營養增補劑中，選手最常使用的分別為維生素/礦物質之綜合維生素 (37.3%)；胺基酸補給品之肌酸 (26.5%)；即時能量補給品之巧克力 (15.1%)；保健食品類之動能食物膠囊 (16.2%)；飲料類之運動飲料 (42.4%)。本研究對台灣優秀選手使用增補劑的現況之結果可作為教練、選手以及各級運動團體之參考。

This study established a simultaneous screening method based on solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) for the detection of 23 stimulants and 23 diuretics in human urine. An electrospray ionization source and multiple reaction monitoring were used for data acquisition. All stimulants and diuretics were separated in less than 12.52 min. The limits of detection were in the range of 25-500 ng/mL for stimulants and 25-125 ng/mL for diuretics. To evaluate the performance of this method, urine samples were collected from 1627 athletes in Taiwan, and 7 positive samples were found. This LC-MS-MS method not only meets the minimum required performance limits set by the World Anti-Doping Agency but also provides a fast way to analyze the authentic urine samples in doping control laboratories.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of swimming on the pharmacokinetic and insulin sensitivity of metformin in insulin resistant rats. Rats with fructose-induced insulin resistance were assigned into four groups: control group (C, n=8), metformin group (M, n=8), swimming group (S, n=8) and metformin with swimming group (MS, n=8). After 12 h of fasting, the S and MS group swam for 45 min, while the M and C groups were placed in 4 cm deep water for the same time period. The first blood samples were withdrawn from the tail 60 min after the four groups had left the water. An oral glucose loading was performed in all groups and metformin was administered to the M and MS groups after the first blood sample. Blood samples were collected at 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 h. The results showed that the MS group increased the time to the maximum concentration, the time to half-life concentration and enhanced insulin sensitivity. This study suggests that swimming before administration of metformin significantly improved insulin sensitivity and the rate of metformin absorption. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Sho-seiryu-to is one of the most common Traditional Chinese Medicine preparations for the attenuation of colds. Ephedrae Herba is one of the prescriptions of Sho-seiryu-to. The major ingredients of Ephedrae Herba, ephedrines, are banned substances on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list. The purpose of this study was to investigate the elimination of urinary ephedrines after administering Sho-seiryu-to preparation and to determine the possibility of positive ephedrines test results in urine. Six healthy volunteers took a single 2.5-g dose of concentrated Sho-seiryu-to preparation. All urine was collected for 48 h. The concentrations of urinary ephedrines were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography and the elimination half-life of the ephedrines was estimated. The results show that ephedrine and cathine (norpseudoephedrine), the prohibited substances of the WADA, were excreted in the urine after taking a single dose of Sho-seiryuto preparation. The peak concentration of ephedrine was 3.88 +/- 1.87 mg/mL (mean +/- SD), which was lower than the WADA permitted value (10 mg/mL). The estimated elimination half-lives of ephedrine, norephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and norpseudoephedrine following administration of this preparation were 5.3 +/- 1.2, 4.9 +/- 0.9, 4.4 +/- 1.0, and 5.4 +/- 1.8 h, respectively. This study concluded that the urine would not violate the antidoping rules after administering a single dose of Sho-seiryu-to preparation. Nevertheless, an applied multiple-dose study upon administering the preparation for three times per day for three days showed a positive urine ephedrine result (13.7 mg/mL). Athletes should be careful when taking more than a single dose of Sho-seiryu-to preparation.

Kakkon-to is one of the most common Traditional Chinese Medicine preparations for the attenuation of colds. Ephedrae Herba is one of the prescriptions of Kakkon-to. The major ingredients of Ephedrae Herba, ephedrines, are banned substances on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list. The purpose of this study was to investigate the elimination of urinary ephedrines after administering Kakkon-to and to determine the possibility of urinary positive ephedrine test results. Six healthy volunteers took one single dose of 2.5 g Kakkon-to extract granules. The concentrations of urinary ephedrines were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The result showed that ephedrine and norpseudoephedrine were excreted in the urine after taking one single dose of Kakkon-to. However, the highest amount of ephedrines in urine was ephedrine and the peak concentration was 4.35 +/- 1.82 microg/mL (mean +/- standard deviation), which was lower than the WADA permitted value (10 microg/mL). The estimated elimination half-lives of ephedrine, norephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and norpseudoephedrine following administration of this preparation were: 5.2 +/- 1.2, 4.2 +/- 1.3, 4.2 +/- 0.9, and 6.5 +/- 2.8 h, respectively. This study concluded that the urine would not violate the rule of doping after administering a single dose of Kakkon-to. Nevertheless, a further study on administering the preparation for 3 times per day for 3 days showed a positive ephedrine result. Athletes should be careful when taking more than a single dose of Kakkon-to.