Juicing up performance: The impact of pitaya on biochemical and oxidative responses in acute swimming exercise

Aerobic exercise boosts antioxidant defenses, but intense acute exercise can increase oxidative stress, reducing performance and accelerating muscle fatigue, especially in untrained individuals. Acute swimming is often used to model such stress, making it ideal for evaluating antioxidant interventions. With rising interest in natural antioxidants, pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus), rich in polyphenols and betacyanins, presents a promising alternative. This study assessed the effects of pitaya pretreatment on mice subjected to acute swimming. Mice were divided into: Control, Exercise, Pitaya, and Pitaya + Exercise groups, with the latter two receiving 200 µl of pitaya juice daily for 30 days. After an acute swimming protocol, animals were euthanized for biochemical analysis. Glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), TBARS, reactive species (RS), glutathione levels (GSH), and activity of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and related enzymes were measured. In our results, the Pitaya + Exercise group showed a significant reduction in RS compared to Pitaya, and the Exercise group increased CAT and GST activity, while Pitaya pretreatment attenuated these effects and elevated GSH. ALP was significantly higher only in the Exercise group. These results suggest that pitaya pretreatment has antioxidant potential in acute exercise, though further research is needed to explore additional mechanisms.