The effects of exercise adaptation on improving the purine nucleotides components are inevitable, and physical activity improves the purine nucleotide salvage pathway. The impact of different training methods, especially the very high intensity exercise and very short bouts and short training periods is not well understood. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the possible compatibility of high intensity interval training on hypoxanthine, xanthine, hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT) and serum uric acid in a short-term. Methods: In this semi-experimental study, eighteen healthy, untrained, male with mean and standard deviation were age 21.95 ± 2.34 years old and BMI 22.95 ± 2.84 kg/m2 eligible volunteers were randomly divided into control and training groups. The training group cycled the bicycle ergometer with maximum intensity for two weeks (three sessions per week) with 15-second repetitions and a 4-minute rest between the sets. Blood samples were collected for measuring HGPRT, hypoxanthine, xanthine and uric acid before and 48 hours after the last training session, and data were analyzed using analysis of covariance and Alpha level of 0.05. Results: A significant increase was found in the levels of hypoxanthine (P = 0.001), xanthine (P = 0.001) and statistically significant reduction was found in uric acid (P = 0.02), and HGPRT enzyme was not significantly different the two groups. Conclusion:The results of this study indicated that high intensity interval training causes the excretion of more purine bases such as hypoxanthine and xanthine, and reduce uric acid at rest is possibly increase antioxidant capacity.

Background: The enzyme HGPRT 5-phosphoribosyl converts to hypoxanthine or guanine to build up IMP or GMP as an ATP and GTP precursor in the purine nucleotides salvage pathway. This enzyme is most active in the liver, blood cells, nervous system, and skeletal muscles. In fact, the normal activity of this enzyme is involved in the salvage of 90% of free nucleotides and thereby contributes to the economy of purine in cells. Minor decrease or defect of this enzyme results in the increased xanthine, uric acid, and oxygen free radicals. Reports suggest the relationship between this enzyme and the level of physical preparation, antioxidant capacity, and low blood uric acid levels in active individuals. However, the effect of different types of exercise, especially high-intensity intermittent exercise on this enzyme is not clear.