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Exercise, oxidative damage and effects of antioxidant manipulation
E H Witt1, A Z Reznick, C A Viguie
1Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley 94720.
The Journal of Nutrition
|March 1, 1992
Summary
Exercise causes oxidative damage, but antioxidant supplements like vitamin E don't improve endurance. Endurance training in rats increased muscle damage, highlighting the need for multiple damage markers in exercise research.
Area of Science:
- Exercise physiology
- Biochemistry
- Nutritional science
Background:
- Exercise generates free radicals, leading to oxidative damage like lipid peroxidation in muscles and liver.
- Antioxidant supplements (e.g., vitamin E, coenzyme Q10) may mitigate exercise-induced damage.
- The impact of antioxidants on maximal aerobic and endurance capacity remains debated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate exercise-induced oxidative damage across different tissues and its modulation by antioxidant supplementation.
- To assess the effects of endurance training and detraining on oxidative stress markers.
- To determine the efficacy of antioxidant supplementation in reducing exercise-induced oxidative damage.
Main Methods:
- Measurement of oxidative damage markers (e.g., lipid peroxidation, protein carbonyls, 8-hydroxyguanosine) in muscle and liver tissues.
- Evaluation of endurance capacity in vitamin-deficient animal models.
- Assessment of urinary 8-hydroxyguanosine output in humans undergoing submaximal exercise with and without antioxidant supplementation.
- Analysis of protein carbonyl concentration in rat muscle and liver following endurance training and detraining.
Main Results:
- Endurance training increased muscle protein carbonyl concentration in rats, which normalized upon detraining; liver damage was unaffected.
- Vitamin E or C deficiency significantly reduced endurance capacity in animal models.
- Submaximal exercise and antioxidant supplementation (vitamins E, C, beta-carotene) did not alter urinary 8-hydroxyguanosine in trained humans.
- Antioxidant supplementation did not enhance maximal aerobic or exercise capacity.
Conclusions:
- Oxidative damage from exercise is tissue-specific and influenced by training status.
- Antioxidant supplementation's benefits on exercise performance are not clearly established.
- Comprehensive assessment using multiple oxidative damage indices across various tissues is crucial for understanding exercise-induced oxidative stress and antioxidant effects.