The Effect of Endurance Training on The Serum and Cardiac Levels of Malondialdehyde in the High Fat Fed Male Rats

Malondialdehyde (MDA) is known as an important biomarker for assessing oxidative stress, which exert many pathological effects. The present study sought to investigate the effect of endurance training on the serum and cardiac levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and lipid profile in the high fat fed male rats.

For the 21 male Wistar rats (weighing 200-250g) randomly assigned in three equal groups including the control (C; received normal diet), 60% high-fat diet (HF), and 60% HF + endurance training group (HFE). The HF and HFE groups received 60% calories from fat for 12 weeks. Subsequently, endurance training program performed for six weeks (5 session per week) by the HFE group. Following completing intervention, blood and heart tissue samples collected, and the MDA and lipid profile were measured. Data were analyzed by SPSS-24 software, using one-way ANOVA test.

Serum MDA in the C and HFE groups was significantly lowered compared to the HF group (P < 0.05). Cardiac MDA also represented a significant decrease in the C and HFE groups compared to the HF group (P < 0.05).  Moreover, endurance training result in significant improvement in the lipid profile compared to the HF group (P < 0.05).

It seems that exercise training can be considered as an effective strategy for ameliorate the pathological effect of high fat feeding, partly exerted by downregulation of serum and cardiac MDA levels and the lipid profile improvement.