Introduction: Sleep deprivation, weighted long load March and energy intake deficiency are the inevitable aspects of the army rangers operation, which can induce inflammation performance impairments. On the other hand, choline has been established to attenuate inflammation and improve physical and mental performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of choline supplementation on IgA, Ck, muscle endurance and marksmanship accuracy after a one day simulated operation.
Methodology: Thirty soldier rangers participated in this quasi experimental, double blind and placebo control study. They were divided into the experimental and placebo groups. Before operation the experimental and placebo group ingested choline supplement (1 week, 2 gr choline bitartrat per day) and (1 week, 1 spoon citric acid per day) respectively. Simulated operation was consisting of the relative sleep deprivation, 19.3 km weighted walking, 4.8 km competitive unweighted running test and shots at targets at 200 m. serum IgA, Ck, muscle endurance (upper and lower body, abdomen ) and marksmanship were assessed before and after the operation. IgA and Ck were measured by Elasian methods respectively. The data were analyzed using kroskalwalis, U man within, paired and independent T-test and covariance (p≤0.05).
Results: In both study groups, there were no significant (p≤0.05) changes in IgA and Ck from pre to post test. No significant differences between group were found in IgA and Ck after simulated operation. Muscle endurance (upper and lower body, and abdomen) showed significant (p≤0.05) decrease from pre to post test in the both study groups, with no significant difference (p≤0.05) between groups after operation. Compared with the placebo group, marksmanship accuracy was significantly (p≤0.05) improved in the experimental group after operation.
Discussion: Results from this study showed that choline supplementation does not appear to exert any significant effect on inflammatory and muscle injury indices, and muscle endurance during one day army operation, but it can to some extent induce positive effect on tasks which require mental concentration and accuracy.