Role of xanthine oxidase in delayed lipid peroxidation in rat liver induced by acute exhausting exercise

The aim of this study was to examine whether xanthine oxidase (XOD)-derived hepatic oxidative damage occurs in the main not during but following strenuous exercise. The degree of damage to hepatic tissue catalyzed by XOD was investigated immediately and 3 h after a single bout of exhausting exercise, in allopurinol and saline injected female Wistar rats. Allopurinol treatment resulted in increased hypoxanthine and decreased uric acid contents in the liver compared with the saline treated group, immediately and 3 h after the exercise. Analysis immediately after the exercise showed no changes in hepatic hypoxanthine, uric acid, and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) contents in the saline treated group, when compared with the resting controls. However, significant increases in uric acid contents in the saline treated livers were observed 3 h after the exercise, relative to the controls. Hepatic TBARS content in the saline treated group were markedly greater than those in both the control and allopurinol treated groups after 3 h of recovery following the exercise. It was concluded that a single bout of exhausting exercise may impose XOD-derived hepatic oxidative damage, primarily during the recovery phase after acute severe exercise.