Acute oxidative stress and antioxidant status responses following an American football match

Intense physical activity is known to induce oxidative stress. Though regular physical training enhances the antioxidant defence system, the effects of diminished training periods are unclear. American football is one of the recently popular sports in Türkiye and is defined as a mixed activity. The aim of the research was to examine some markers of oxidative stress and antioxidant status in occasionally competitive American football players following a match, and relations with aerobic power and playing position.

Twenty two male players volunteered for the study. To determine oxidative stress and antioxidant status from blood samples collected before and immediately following a match, plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) levels, erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities, and total antioxidant status (TAS) were assessed, using spectrophotometric methods. Wilcoxon's signed rank test was used to determine the match effect, and Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare playing position and VO2max effects.

Plasma MDA (P<0.001) and NO (P<0.05) levels increased significantly following the match. Antioxidant parameters were unchanged following the match when compared with the resting level, except for a VO2max related effect (P<0.05) on TAS.

Collected data revealed that an American football match caused excessive production of free radicals and oxidative stress. The training loads players underwent were not high enough to cause positive effects on the antioxidant status. To enhance training-induced antioxidant status adaptation, higher amounts of physical activity may be required.