Metabolic Profiles and Candidate Metabolic Features in Sanda Athletes: An Exploratory Pilot Study Comparing a Single Elite Athlete with a Non-elite Cohort

Abstract

This study was aimed at evaluating the feasibility of using non-invasive urinary metabolomics to track individual training responses in Sanda athletes, as well as exploring characteristic metabolic signatures in a top-tier performer. Ten longitudinal biological urine samples collected across separate training days from a single international champion (n = 1) were compared against an 11-participant collegiate cohort (n = 11) as a benchmark reference. Pre- and post-exercise urine samples were collected after a standardized high-intensity sparring session and analyzed with UPLC-Q Exactive Plus LC-MS/MS. Post-exercise metabolic variations in the non-elite cohort clustered primarily within core energy pathways, including the tricarboxylic acid cycle and arginine/proline turnover. In contrast, the longitudinal profiles of the elite champion revealed a distinct, signal-dominant phenotype, with nominal enrichment (p <0.05) in retrograde endocannabinoid signaling and GABAergic synapse pathways. Supervised multivariate filtering identified specific structural phospholipids, such as phosphatidylcholine (PC) (16:0/18:2), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) (18:0/22:6), and PC (15:0/P-18:1), as key candidate features demonstrating clear mathematical separation within this dataset. Given the single-case experimental design and inherent training age imbalances, the identified nominal variations offer hypothesis-generating clues potentially associated with chronic physiological adaptation, rather than providing validated selection criteria. This study therefore reframes individual metabolomics as a discovery tool to capture individual homeostatic states and identified peripheral lipid regulation networks warranting future validation in larger independent cohorts.