Effects of acute high-intensity aerobic and anaerobic exercise on oxidative damage to lipids, proteins and DNA in untrained subjects

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of aerobic and anaerobic exercise on oxidative damage to lipids, proteins and DNA. Fourteen untrained men performed an incremental exercise test to exhaustion and Wingate anaerobic test on two different occasions. Blood samples taken prior to the exercise, immediately post-exercise and 30 min post-exercise were analyzed for plasma malondialdehyde (MDA), plasma protein carbonyls (PC) and plasma 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). There were significant main effects for time or exercise type for 8-OHdG levels. After anaerobic exercise, 8-OHdG levels of the 30 min post-exercise were lower than those of the pre-exercise. There was no significant interaction or main effects for plasma MDA and PC levels. These data indicated that acute high-intensity aerobic and anaerobic exercise did not result in either lipid or protein oxidation. However, DNA oxidation was affected by anaerobic exercise.