Effects of acute exercise on liver function and blood redox status in heavy drinkers

Abstract

Excessive alcohol consumption can induce oxidative stress, resulting in the development of several diseases. Exercise has been reported to prevent and/or improve a number of health issues through several mechanisms, including an improvement in redox status. It has also been previously suggested that exercise can help individuals with alcohol use disorders reduce their alcohol intake; however, research in this field is limited. The aim of the present study was to investigage the effects of acute exercise of moderate intensity on the liver function and blood redox status in heavy drinkers. For this purpose, a total of 17 heavy drinkers [age, 31.6±3.2 years; body mass index (BMI), 27.4±0.8 kg/m2; experimental group (EG)] and 17 controls [age, 33.5±1.3 years; BMI, 26.1±1.4 kg/m2; control group (CG), who did not exceed moderate alcohol consumption], underwent one trial of acute exercise of moderate intensity (50–60% of the heart rate reserve) for 30 min on a cycle ergometer, following an overnight fast, and abstaining from smoking and alcohol consumption. Blood samples were obtained before and immediately after exercise for later determination of the indices of liver function and blood redox status. The subjects in the EG had significantly higher (p<0.05) baseline γ-glutamyl transferase (γ-GT) levels compared to the subjects in the CG. Exercise thus resulted in significantly higher γ-GT levels (p<0.005) only in the EG. No significant differences in aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) baseline levels were observed between the 2 groups. Following exercise, the AST levels increased significantly (p<0.001) in both groups, whereas the ALT levels increased significantly (p<0.01) only in the EG. The baseline glutathione (GSH) levels were significantly lower (p<0.05) and remained low following exercise in the EG. In addition, we observed a trend for higher (p=0.07) baseline levels of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), which remained elevated post-exercise in the EG compared to the CG. Significantly increased post-exercise total antioxidant capacity (TAC; p<0.01) and uric acid (UA; p<0.05) levels were noted in the CG, whereas the TAC (p=0.06) and UA (p=0.08) levels increased and approached significance post-exercise in the EG. No significant differences in the baseline levels of total bilirubin and protein carbonyl were observed between the 2 groups, even post-exercise. Thus, the findings of the present study indicate that even though heavy drinkers may be prone to oxidative stress, their exercise-induced antioxidant response is similar to that of individuals who do not drink heavily.

Exercise as treatment for alcohol use disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis

“…There was no evidence that exercise improved heart rate, anxiety or self-efficacy (see table 1). Smoking status was indicated in three studies,15 44 54 but associations between smoking and study outcomes were not reported. Forest plots for the secondary study outcomes are available as online supplementary material.…”

Anaerobic exercise affects the saliva antioxidant/oxidant balance in high-performance pentathlon athletes

“…The total antioxidant capacity was measured as in Georgakouli et al [15], using 20 µL saliva, 480 µL sodium-potassium phosphate (10 mM, pH 7.4) and 500 µL 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH, 0.1 mM), incubated in the dark for 30 min and centrifuged for 3 min at 20,000 × g. The absorbance A c was read at 520 nm and compared with A 0 , absorbance of a reference sample containing only 20 µL water, DPPH and buffer. Percentage reduction of the DPPH (Q) was defined by Q = 100(A 0 -A c )/A 0 [16].…”

Metabolic Interplay of Hepatic Enzymes – A Case Report

“…An increase of antioxidant capacity postexercise has been reported in both in healthy individuals and in heavy drinkers [21,22]. However, acute strenuous exercise leads to an increase of oxidative stress and could possibly be damaging, while regular training has protective effects, stimulating the endogenous antioxidant systems [17,19,21].…”

“…The aminotransferases' elevation was maintained for at least a week post-exercise, the effects of training depending on the type and intensity of the exercise, the fitness level and gender of the subject [22,23]. It was reported that the increase is higher and more rapid for AST than ALT and AST/ALT ratio higher than 1 for one week post exercise, then returns to normal [23].…”

“…Although there have been many findings confirming the increase of aminotransferases due to high intensity muscle training [22][23][24], some studies of moderate physical exercise found no significant difference in transaminase plasmatic levels post-exercise [15].…”