Effects of xanthine oxidase inhibition on oxidative stress and swimming performance in rats

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of allopurinol, a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, on oxidative stress and physical performance after swimming until exhaustion in rats. Blood and gastrocnemius muscle samples were collected before, immediately after, and 5 h after exercise and the respective timepoints after allopurinol administration. Xanthine oxidase and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were determined in plasma and muscle, whereas catalase activity and reduced (GSH) and oxidized (GSSG) glutathione were measured in erythrocytes and muscle. Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and protein carbonyls (PC) were determined in plasma, erythrocytes, and muscle. As expected, allopurinol inhibited xanthine oxidase activity. Compared with their nonallopurinol-treated counterparts, rats treated with allopurinol showed a 35% decrease in physical performance, as indicated by the shorter swimming time to exhaustion. Exercise alone increased PC and TBARS concentration in plasma, erythrocytes, and gastrocnemius muscle. Similarly, allopurinol alone increased PC and TBARS concentration in erythrocytes and gastrocnemius muscle, decreased TAC in plasma and gastrocnemius muscle, and decreased the GSH:GSSG ratio in erythrocytes. Our data illustrate that, in general, exercise and allopurinol alone increased the levels of most of the oxidative stress markers measured in plasma, erythrocytes, and gastrocnemius muscle. Xanthine oxidase inhibition provoked a marked reduction in physical performance.

Antioxidant effect of diphenyl diselenide on oxidative stress caused by acute physical exercise in skeletal muscle and lungs of mice

“…Accordingly, it has been demonstrated that swimming exercise increases the levels of most of the oxidative stress markers in muscle. 36 In view of the results obtained, we propose that the increase of NPSH and ascorbic acid levels demonstrated in this study occurred as an adaptive response of muscle tissue to lipid peroxidation. It is well documented that during conditions of oxidative stress, such as exercise, increased circulation of antioxidants may result from an increased release from tissue pools, in turn sparing the quenching of other components of the antioxidant defense system.…”

Eccentric Exercise, Muscle Damage and Oxidative Stress

“…Blood flow redistribution during exercise is a well-known adaptation in exercise physiology and describes the vasodilation of the vascular system of the active muscle and the vasoconstriction of the vasculature of the non-active muscle tissue. The hypoxic nonactive tissue receives a greater quantity of blood after exercise and enhanced formation of RONS is possible due to the xanthine oxidase mechanism (Finaud et al 2006; Veskoukis et al 2008). This mechanism of RONS production seems also unlikely to account for the increased oxidative stress that appears days following eccentrically-induced muscle damage.…”

Plasma cytokine response, lipid peroxidation and NF-κB activation in skeletal muscle following maximum progressive swimming

“…Treadmill exercise has been associated with the increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in skeletal muscle (4,5). Many reports also suggest that exercise-induced ROS production is responsible for the activation of signaling pathways in skeletal muscle that will culminate in cellular adaptation to exercise (6,7).…”