Abstract

This study was performed to investigate the protective effect of Spirulina platensis extract (SPE) supplementation on oxidative stress in acute exhaustive exercise. The experiment was carried out on 8 male Wistar rats distributed into 4 groups (A, B, C, and D) of 20 rats each. The A group designated as control group were administered with placebo (saline) water by gavage every day for 6 weeks. The B, C and D group designated as SPE group were administered with SPE of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg body weight day for 6 weeks, respectively. After 6 weeks, the exhaustive exercise started at 10% grade, 15 m/min for 15 min followed by a gradual increase of treadmill speed and times as 25m/min for 15 min, 30m/min for 30 min, 35m/min for 60 min, 40 m/min for 30 min, 45 m/min for 30 min until exhaustion. The time of running to exhaustion, the BUN, glucose, lactate levels of blood, the MDA, SOD and GPX levels of muscle were determined after exhaustive exercise. Results of the above study showed that the time of running to exhaustion of rats in SPE groups were significantly prolonged compared with that in the control group (P<0.05). Levels of the BUN, blood lactate and MDA of rats in SPE groups were significantly decreased compared with that in the control group (P<0.05) and levels of the blood glucose, SOD and GPx of rats in SPE groups were significantly increased compared with that in the control group (P<0.05). It was concluded that exhaustive exercise could result in oxidative stress. The SPE supplementation increased performance of exhaustive exercise, and it was beneficial in enhancing the antioxidant status and inhibiting oxidative stress induced by acute exhaustive exercise.

Key words: Spirulina platensis, oxidative stress, exhaustive exercise.

Abbreviation

Abbreviations: SPE, Spirulina platensis extract; BUN, blood urea nitrogen; MDA,  malondialdehyde; SOD, Superoxidase dismutase; GPx, Glutathione peroxidase; ROS,reactive oxygen species.