The Influence of Daily Physical Activity in Total Antioxidant Capacity and Oxidative DNA Damage, in Human Lymphocytes

Introduction The study of physical exercise benefits in health is well documented in the literature. Some of the proposed mechanisms that explain organism function enhancement are related with bioenergetics and mitochondria improvement, associated with decrease in ROS production and increase e antioxidant capacity. As a consequence, oxidative damage tends to decrease as an adaptation to chronic exercise. Despite this explanation, results are inconsistent and might be explained due to methodological issues. One of the main problems might be related with the lack of daily physical activity control. Indeed, considering the inclusion in a group of physical exercise may be insufficient to discriminate active and sedentary people. So, we aimed to estimate the influence of total daily physical activity (TDPA) in oxidative stress related variables (total antioxidant capacity and oxidative DNA damage).

Methods Thirty health men, nonsmokers, above 40 years old, integrated this study. 15 of these subjects had a moderate to vigorous daily physical activity and the remaining ones had sedentary to lower daily physical activity, according to the levels proposed by the ACSM (1). Daily physical activity was measured during at least 4 days to 7 days with an accelerometer (ActiGraph); total antioxidant capacity was measured in plasma with ABTS Assay; and oxidative DNA damage was quantified by comet assay with FPG enzyme formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase sites (FPG sites, oxidized purine bases). Independent-Samples T-test was used to analyze differences between groups, and significant level was set at p

Results and Discussion Our results revealed that the most active subjects tend to evidence higher antioxidant capacity, suggesting the importance of an active lifestyle in the increasing antioxidant protection. This could mean that the most active individuals are more capable to resist against oxidative stress. One of the possible consequences of oxidative stress is the DNA damage of various cells. Our results showed that the most active subjects tend to have less DNA damage, which seem in accordance to the results of the total antioxidant capacity.

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