The effects of catechin treatment on the free radical and antioxidant enzyme levels during exercise

SUMMARYThe present study was carried out to investigate the effects of catechin substance administered to the rats under rest and exercise conditions on free radicals and antioxidant enzyme levels before and after the administration. In the study, 12 Wistar Albina male rates with weights ranging from 260 to 320 gr (mean: 290.5 gr) were used. Rats were randomized control group (n = 6) and the experimental group (n = 6) is divided into two groups. Before conducting statistical tests, it is necessary to check whether the distribution of the groups is normal or not. For this purpose, normality test was administered to each group separately. Based on the results obtained, parametric and non-parametric tests were run. One of the parametric tests, t-test, was conducted for dependent and independent groups. One of the non-parametric tests, Mann-Whitney test, was carried out for independent groups. The significance level was determined to be ?=0,01 and ?=0,05. In order to carry out the tests employed in the present study, SPSS 15.0 program package was used. After keeping the animals under quarantine for 10 days, on the first day of the experiment, blood from the heart of each rat was taken, on the second day of the experiment, the rats were subjected to exhausting swimming exercise and following the exercise, blood from their hearts was taken again. Between the 3rd and 12th days of the experiment (for 10 days), each rat in the control group was given 20ml/kg once in a day and each rat in the experimental group was given 1 ml/kg 0.05% DMSO through catheter. On the 13th day of the experiment, each rat was subjected to exercise and then blood samples from their hearts were taken. On the 14th day of the experiment, the rats were allowed to relax and on the 15th day of the experiment, blood samples were taken from their hearts under anesthesia. Following the rest and exercise conditions of the subjects, lactate levels of the blood samples taken from their hearts were analyzed by using YSI Sport 1500 Lactate Analyzer (Yellow Spring Instrument, US).Changes taking place before and after catechin treatment to the rats were analyzed, and in this regard, comparative analyses were carried out to investigate the rest and exercise condition lactate levels, antioxidant enzyme levels (SOD, CAT, GPx, GST) and final product of lipid peroxidation, MDA levels of control and experimental groups. No significant difference was found between the control group and the experimental group on the 1st day of the experiment when they were resting and on the second day of the experiment following the exhausting swimming exercise (p>0.01 and p>0.05). Between the 3rd and 12th days of the experiment for 10 days, catechin was administered to the rats, and then significant changes (p<0.01 and p<0.05) were observed on lactate, MDA, SOD, CAT, GPx and GST values of the rats subjected to exhausting swimming exercise on the 13th day of the experiment. There was significant reduction in their MDA and lactate values (p<0.01 and p<0.05). And significant increase was found in enzyme levels (SOD, CAT, GPx, GST) (p<0.01 and p<0.05). On the 14th day of the experiment, the rats were allowed to relax and the next day, blood samples were taken under anesthesia and analysis of these blood samples revealed no significant difference in terms of MDA and lactate values. On the other hand, a significant increase was found in antioxidant enzyme levels (SOD, CAT, GPx, GST). Moreover, on the 2nd day of the experiment, the blood samples taken following an exhausting swimming exercise were statistically compared with the blood samples taken on the 13th day of the experiment following an exhausting swimming exercise and a significant reduction in MDA and lactate levels and a significant increase in antioxidant enzyme levels (SOD, CAT, GPx, GST) was observed.As a result, as it has been determined that catechin treatment delays fatigue by suppressing lactate level during exercise, has protective effects against free radicals by decreasing MDA level which is the final outcome of lipid peroxidation and increases antioxidant enzyme (SOD, CAT, GPx, GST) levels and in this way, it strengthens antioxidant defense systems; hence, it can be assumed that it may have positive impacts on exercise performance.Key Words: Flavanoids, Catechin, Exercise, Free Radicals, Antioxidant Enzymes