Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T18:00:16.030Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of vitamin E supplementation and training on oxidative stress parameters measured in exercising horses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

K J Duberstein ,
S E Johnson ,
L R McDowell  and
E A Ott
K J Duberstein*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
S E Johnson
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
L R McDowell
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
E A Ott
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
*
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Exercise places an increased demand on the body's systems, both to provide fuel for working musculature and to neutralize and dispose of toxic build-up. By-products of demanding performance are reactive free radicals. Dietary consumption of vitamin E, an antioxidant, may be a plausible way to reduce free radical damage. The present study examined the effects of supplemental dietary vitamin E on the presence of oxidation products and antioxidant capacity in blood and tissue of exercising horses. Eight Thoroughbred horses were used in a crossover design study, with one group consuming a diet containing vitamin E at the 1989 National Research Council (NRC) level recommended for horses in moderate to intense work (80 IU kg DM− 1 [National Research Council (1989). Nutrient Requirements of Horses. 5th revised edn.; Washingto, DC: National Academy Press, pp. 48]), and the second group being fed the control diet plus 3000 IU day− 1dl-α-tocopheryl acetate. The horses underwent an adaptation phase, an 8-week training programme and a final standard exercise test (SET) during which the horses ran on a 6° incline to exhaustion, and then a washout phase. Horses were then crossed over to opposite treatment groups and these phases repeated. Blood samples were collected at specific points before and after exercise during the training period and before and after performing the SET. Neither plasma vitamin E nor thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance concentrations were influenced by supplemental vitamin E. Blood Trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity values increased (P < 0.05) following 5 weeks of training in both groups, indicating improved antioxidant capacity as horses became fitter. Vitamin E supplementation did not alter plasma reduced, oxidized or total glutathione levels, nor the percentage of glutathione in the reduced form during the training period. However, vitamin E did cause an elevation in the percentage of glutathione existing in the reduced form following a SET as compared with the control diet (P < 0.006). This is possibly due to lower plasma oxidized glutathione levels in vitamin E-treated horses (P < 0.03). This study indicates that vitamin E supplementation above NRC levels can influence certain measures of oxidative stress in intensely exercising horses, and training has the ability to improve the antioxidant status of the animal.

Keywords

vitamin Eoxidative stressexerciseequine
Type
Research Paper
Information
Comparative Exercise Physiology , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , February 2009 , pp. 17 - 25
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

†

Present address: Edgar Rhodes Ctr. For ADS, University of Georgia, 425 River Road, Athens, GA 30 602, USA

References

1 Powers, SK and Hamilton, K (1999). Antioxidants and exercise. Clinical Sports Medicine 18: 525–536.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2 Matsuki, N, Tamura, S, Ono, K, Watari, T, Goitsuka, R, Yamanobe, A, Hiraga, A, Kubo, K, Takagi, S and Hasegawa, A (1991). Exercise-induced phospholipid degradation in the equine skeletal muscle and erythrocytes. Journal of Veterinary Medical Science 53: 1001–1007.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3 Avellini, L, Chiaradia, E and Gaiti, A (1999). Effect of exercise training, selenium and vitamin E on some free radical scavengers in horses (Equus caballus). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology–Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 123: 147–154.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4 Singh, VN (1992). A current perspective on nutrition and exercise. Journal of Nutrition 122: 760–765.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5 Dekkers, JC, van Doornen, LJ and Kemper, HC (1996). The role of antioxidant vitamins and enzymes in the prevention of exercise-induced muscle damage. Sports Medicine 21: 213–238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6 Chiaradia, E, Avellini, L, Rueca, F, Spaterna, A, Porciello, F, Antonioni, MT and Gaiti, A (1998). Physical exercise, oxidative stress and muscle damage in racehorses. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part B, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology 119: 833–836.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7 Matsuki, N, Tamura, S, Ono, K, Watari, T, Goitsuka, R, Yamanobe, A, Hiraga, A, Kubo, K, Takagi, S and Hasegawa, A (1991). Exercise-induced phospholipid degradation in the equine skeletal muscle and erythrocytes. Journal of Veterinary Medical Science 53: 1001–1007.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8 Henneke, DR, Potter, GD, Kreider, JL and Yeates, BF (1983). Relationship between condition score, physical measurements and body fat percentage in mares. Equine Veterinary Journal 15(4): 371–372.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9 National Research Council, (1989). Nutrient Requirements of Horses. 5th Revised edn.; Washington, DC: National Academy Press, pp. 48.Google Scholar
10 Siciliano, PD, Parker, AL and Lawrence, LM (1997). Effect of dietary vitamin E supplementation on the integrity of skeletal muscle in exercised horses. Journal of Animal Science 75: 1553–1560.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11 Armstrong, D, Hiramitsu, T and Ueda, T (1998). In vitro screening for antioxidant activity. Methods in Molecular Biology 108: 315–323.Google ScholarPubMed
12 Yagi, K (1998). Simple assay for the level of total lipid peroxides in serum or plasma. Methods in Molecular Biology 108: 101–106.Google ScholarPubMed
13 Miller, NJ (1998). Nonvitamin plasma antioxidants. Methods in Molecular Biology 108: 285–297.Google ScholarPubMed
14 Browne, RW and Armstrong, D (1998). Reduced glutathione and glutathione disulfide. Methods in Molecular Biology 108: 347–352.Google ScholarPubMed
15 Blatt, DH, Leonard, SW and Traber, MG (2001). Vitamin E kinetics and the function of tocopherol regulatory proteins. Nutrition 17: 799–805.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16 Siu, GM and Draper, HH (1982). Metabolism of malondialdehyde in vivo and in vitro. Lipids 17: 349–355.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17 Marlin, DJ, Fenn, K, Smith, N, Deaton, CD, Roberts, CA, Harris, PA, Dunster, C and Kelly, FJ (2002). Changes in circulatory antioxidant status in horses during prolonged exercise. Journal of Nutrition 132(6 Suppl. 2): 1622S–1667S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18 Van Beaumont, W, Strand, JC, Petrofsky, JS, Hipskind, SG and Greenleaf, JE (1973). Changes in total plasma content of electrolytes and proteins with maximal exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology 34(1): 102–106.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19 Lindinger, M, McCutcheon, LJ, Ecker, GL and Geor, RJ (2000). Heat acclimation improves regulation of plasma volume and plasma Na+ content during exercise in horses. Journal of Applied Physiology 88: 1006–1013.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20 Kavazis, AN, Kivipelto, J, Choe, HS, Colahan, PT and Ott, EA (2004). Effects of ribose supplementation on selected metabolic measurements and performance in maximally exercising Thoroughbreds. Journal of Animal Science 82: 619–625.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21 Essen-Gustavsson, B, McMiken, D, Karlstrom, K, Lindholm, A, Persson, S and Thornton, J (1989). Muscular adaptation of horses during intensive training and detraining. Equine Veterinary Journal 21: 27–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22 Sastre, J, Asensi, M, Gasco, E, Pallardo, FV, Ferrero, JA, Furukawa, T and Vina, J (1992). Exhaustive physical exercise causes oxidation of glutathione status in blood: prevention by antioxidant administration. American Journal of Physiology 263(5 Pt 2): R992–R995.Google ScholarPubMed