Effect of lemon verbena supplementation on muscular damage markers, proinflammatory cytokines release and neutrophils’ oxidative stress in chronic exercise

Abstract

Intense exercise is directly related to muscular damage and oxidative stress due to excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) in both, plasma and white blood cells. Nevertheless, exercise-derived ROS are essential to regulate cellular adaptation to exercise. Studies on antioxidant supplements have provided controversial results. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of moderate antioxidant supplementation (lemon verbena extract) in healthy male volunteers that followed a 90-min running eccentric exercise protocol for 21 days. Antioxidant enzymes activities and oxidative stress markers were measured in neutrophils. Besides, inflammatory cytokines and muscular damage were determined in whole blood and serum samples, respectively. Intense running exercise for 21 days induced antioxidant response in neutrophils of trained male through the increase of the antioxidant enzymes catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase. Supplementation with moderate levels of an antioxidant lemon verbena extract did not block this cellular adaptive response and also reduced exercise-induced oxidative damage of proteins and lipids in neutrophils and decreased myeloperoxidase activity. Moreover, lemon verbena supplementation maintained or decreased the level of serum transaminases activity indicating a protection of muscular tissue. Exercise induced a decrease of interleukin-6 and interleukin-1β levels after 21 days measured in basal conditions, which was not inhibited by antioxidant supplementation. Therefore, moderate antioxidant supplementation with lemon verbena extract protects neutrophils against oxidative damage, decreases the signs of muscular damage in chronic running exercise without blocking the cellular adaptation to exercise.

Phlebodium decumanum is a natural supplement that ameliorates the oxidative stress and inflammatory signalling induced by strenuous exercise in adult humans

“…While moderate exercise may enhance both immune function and antioxidant system over sedentary levels, prolonged and high-intensity exercise overcome the antioxidant systems and may impair immune function. This negative response is more apparent as the intensity and duration of exercise increase (Gleeson 2007;Funes et al 2011).…”

“…However, associated with this important increase in free radical production during strenuous exercise, there is an over-expression of inXammatory cytokines which have also been shown to contribute to the above commented aspects related to highintensity exercise (Gleeson 2007;Funes et al 2011).…”

“…The increased ROS generation that occurs in muscle Wbres during contractile activity is directly related to the elevated oxygen consumption that occurs with increased mitochondrial respiration (Urso and Clarkson 2003). These ROS generated during exercise are now recognized, in part, as key mediators of cellular signalling and training adaptations and therefore, essential to regulate cellular adaption to exercise (Peake et al 2007;Funes et al 2011). However, during strenuous exercise, the generation of free radicals is raised to a level that overcomes the antioxidant systems (Sen 2001) and induces, among other eVects, muscle Wbre damage and could be one of the factors terminating muscle eVort (Venditti and Di Meo 1996).…”

No effect of antioxidant supplementation on muscle performance and blood redox status adaptations to eccentric training

“…Indeed, several studies have indicated that antioxidant supplementation induces a positive effect (1, 2), a negative effect (3,4), or no effect (5, 6) on muscle performance. Likewise, several studies have reported that antioxidant supplementation attenuates oxidative stress (7)(8)(9), others have reported that it induces a prooxidant effect (10)(11)(12)(13), and others have reported that it does not affect redox status (5,14,15).…”

Nutritional Interventions as Potential Strategy to Minimize Exercise-Induced Muscle Injuries in Sports

“…Indeed a not univocal strategy in the timing of supplementation (pre exercise, during exercise, post exercise) has been adopted demonstrating de facto a lack of a univocal and definite and generally accepted mechanism underlying the correlation between exercise, muscle damage, and antioxidant activity. As a matter of facts several studies have examined the effects of antioxidants on indices of ROS-induced muscle damage in exercise and suggested that antioxidant supplementation may exert some protection particularly in relation to bouts of resistance exercise in untrained or physically active individuals [30][31][32][33][34][35] as demonstrated by a reduced inflammation [35][36][37][38][39], force loss [30, 40,41], and fatigue appearance [42,43] and no evidence for any beneficial effect on performance [44] [54][55][56][57]. The lack of effects appears to be particularly evident in highly trained individuals whose adaptation to increased exposure to oxidation is normally able to promote a secondary increase of the endogenous antioxidant defenses that reduce the risk of oxidative damage [58,59] Therefore even following extreme exercise paradigms, unlike short periods of modest exercise [60], indications of oxidative damage may lack in well trained athletes [61].…”