The Effect of Eight Weeks of Testosterone EnanthateConsumption on Oxidative Indicators of KidneyTissue in Resistance Trained Rats

Taking anabolic steroids can affect the state of oxidative stress in different tissues of the body such as kidneys. This study aimed to examine the effect of 8 weeks of resistance training with testosterone enanthate consumption on tissue oxidation indicators in male rats.

In the current experimental study, 18 rats with an average weight of 250 ± 50 g were divided into 3 groups of 6 animals including: (1) control, (2) training, and (3) training + testosterone. Rats in the training and training + testosterone groups underwent resistance training for 8 weeks and 5 sessions per week. Also, rats in the training + testosterone group received 20 mg/kg of testosterone enanthate by intramuscular injection 3 days a week. The resistance training protocol consisted of climbing a 1-meter ladder 5 days a week (4 sets of 6 with a rest interval of 60 to 90 seconds) in which the weights were 60% of the rats’ body weights in the first week, and 20% of the body weight was added to the weights every week. One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the research findings (P≤0.05).

Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) level in the training + testosterone group was significantly lower than the control group (P=0.007); however, there were no significant differences in malonaldehyde (MDA) (P=0.64) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) (P=0.29) levels between the research groups.

It seems that testosterone consumption can be effective in increasing oxidative stress factors in the kidney tissue of resistance-trained rats.