The Effects of Two Types of Strenuous Training (HIIT and Resistance) on Hippocampal SOD Activity, Serum MDA and TAS in Male Wistar Rats

Knowledge of the physiological stress caused by different types of exercise training can be an important factor in proper designing of training programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two types of strenuous training (HIIT and resistance) on hippocampus superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity, serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in male Wistar rats. Twenty male Wistar rats (age: 8 weeks and weight: 205.19±17.19g), after one week of familiarization with environment and training, were randomly divided into three groups: control (n=6), HIIT (n=7) and resistance (n=7). During 10 weeks (5 sessions per week), rats performed an incremental HIIT training on the animal treadmill. HIIT training protocol started with 30 m/min running on the treadmill for one min with 10 reps and two min active rest at the first week and reached to 75-80 m/min for 1 min with 7 rep and 3 min active rest at the last week. In addition, resistance training was performed on one-meter height ladder (divided by 26 stairs) with a load of 30℅ of their body weight (suspended from tail) in the first week, which gradually increased to 250℅ of their body weight in the last week. We evaluated the activity of SOD and GPX in the hippocampus, serum MDA and TAC levels by spectrophotometry and ELISA Kit. The results of this study revealed no significant alterations in SOD and GPX activity in HIIT and resistance groups (P>0.05). However, the serum levels of TAC and MDA increased significantly in HIIT (p=0.001) and resistance groups (p=0.002) compared to those in the control group. Based on our results, it seems that the effect of high-intensity interval and resistance training on hippocampus is not signifcant which could result from adaptation of hippocampus to this type of training in the long run. However, the significant increase of TAC and MDA in serum which represents high-level physiological stress induced by this type of training, should be considered in designing an exercise training program.