Quercetin and caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) attenuate acute exercise-induced oxidative stress

Abstract

Flavonoids are naturally occurring antioxidant molecules that are abundantly existing in the human diet. We investigated effects of quercetin and caffeic acid phenethyl ester to redox balance in acute treadmill exercise. Malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase activity, xanthine oxidase activity and total nitrite in blood, skeletal muscle and liver were analyzed in 58 male Sprague-Dawley rats that were exposed to a single bout of exercise. We found that exercise provoked the increment of analyzed parameters except for total nitrite which indicates nitric oxide. Quercetin and caffeic acid phenethyl ester decreased malondialdehyde levels in skeletal muscle and liver. However, they were ineffectual in preventing lipid peroxidation in blood probably due to limited repair and biosynthesis capability of erythrocytes. Since quercetin and CAPE successfully weakened oxidative stress in liver and skeletal muscle, they may be seen as promising in preventing acute exercise-induced oxidative injury.