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Response of blood cell antioxidant enzyme defences to antioxidant diet supplementation and to intense exercise

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Summary

Background

Exhaustive exercise induces oxidative stress. The cellular antioxidant defence systems have demonstrated great adaptation to chronic exercise.

Aim

To establish the influence of the antioxidant diet supplementation on the erythrocyte and lymphocyte antioxidant enzyme activities in athletes at basal and post–exercise levels.

Methods

Fifteen amateur trained male athletes were randomly distributed in two groups: control and antioxidant supplemented (90 days’ diet supplementation with 500 mg/day vitamin E and 30 mg/day β–carotene, and the last 15 days also with 1 g/day vitamin C). The study was double blind. Maximal and submaximal exercise tests were performed after three months of diet supplementation. The study was developed during the training and competition season.

Results

The sportsmen of the supplemented group presented significantly higher plasmatic final levels of vitamin C, vitamin E and β–carotene. Erythrocyte glutathione reductase activity significantly decreased in the placebo group but was maintained in the supplemented group after the three months studied. The erythrocyte superoxide dismutase activity increased after the training/competition period in the placebo group. Lymphocyte catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities increased significantly in the supplemented group after the supplementation period but were maintained in the placebo group. No effects of the antioxidant supplementation were observed in the erythrocyte antioxidant enzyme response to the exercise tests. The antioxidant supplementation induced a better adaptation of lymphocyte catalase after submaximal test.

Conclusions

Lymphocytes showed higher sensibility to antioxidant supplementation, improving the response of antioxidant enzymes to training and to acute exercise. In erythrocytes the training adaptations were more important than the antioxidant supplementation effects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratori de Ciències de l’Activitat FÍsica & Departament de Biologia, Fonamental i Ciències de la Salut Universitat de les Illes Balears, Crta.Valldemossa, km 7.5, 07122, Palma de Mallorca, Balears, Spain

    P. Tauler, A. Aguiló, I. Gimeno, J. A. Tur & A. Pons

  2. Laboratori del Carme, Hospital Universitari de Son Dureta, IBSALUD

    E. Fuentespina

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  1. P. Tauler
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  2. A. Aguiló
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  3. I. Gimeno
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  4. E. Fuentespina
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  5. J. A. Tur
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  6. A. Pons
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Correspondence to A. Pons.

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Tauler, P., Aguiló, A., Gimeno, I. et al. Response of blood cell antioxidant enzyme defences to antioxidant diet supplementation and to intense exercise. Eur J Nutr 45, 187–195 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-005-0582-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-005-0582-7

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