The Effects of Moderate Exercise on Ethanol-Induced Gastric Injuries in Rats

The role of oxygen-derived free radicals in the development of pathogenesis in acute gastric lesions induced by ethanol is well known. The beneficial effects of physical training on the antioxidant defenses of numerous tissues have been proved. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of exercise training on ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injuries in rats. In this experimental study, 28 Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided into 4 equal groups: sedentary control, exercise control, sedentary plus ethanol and exercise plus ethanol groups. The rats were subjected to moderate treadmill exercise protocol for 30 consecutive days (one hour per day). Thereafter, ethanol-treated groups received absolute ethanol (1 mL/rat) by gavage to induce gastric ulcer. Antioxidant status and lipid peroxidation of stomach wall were measured by evaluation of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase activities (CAT) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) concentration, respectively. The histopathological findings of this study showed that moderate exercise training significantly inhibited the ethanol-induced gastric lesions in rats. Biochemical results also showed that administration of ethanol significantly decreased GPx activity and increased TBARS when compared to the sedentary control group (P < 0.05). In contrast, the exercise plus ethanol group showed higher GPx activity and lower TBARS concentration when compared to the ethanol-treated rats (P < 0.05). The catalase activity in ethanol-treated rats tended to be decreased when compared to control group. It seems that the preventive effects of exercise training may be mediated through increasing GPx activity subsequently inhibition of lipid peroxidation in stomach wall of rats.