Efeito da carnosina e da β-alanina no dano produzido pelo exercício intenso no músculo sóleo de ratos

Abstract

Intense physical exercise affects the balance between oxidative damage and antioxidant defense in the muscle. Carnosine is a dipeptide composed of the cytoplasmic β-alanine and histidine amino acids. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of carnosine and its β-alanine precursor of oxidative damage caused by intense physical exercise in the soleus muscle of rats. Male Wistar rats weighing between 200 and 240 g were divided into 4 groups: control (sedentary), exercise, exercise + β-alanine and carnosine + exercise. The animal groups submitted to the exercise ran on a treadmill for 60 min to 25 m / min. Factors related to muscle damage and oxidative stress were assessed in blood serum and homogenate of the soleus muscle. The exercise promoted muscle damage, as observed by increased serum activity of enzymes aspartate aminotransferase and creatine kinase, and also induced oxidative stress could be seen by the increased activity of the enzymes glutathione peroxidase and reductase, decreased reduced glutathione concentration and lipid peroxidation in soleus muscle. Only carnosine kept the parameters close to those of the control group. The results indicate that pretreatment with the soleus muscle carnosine protected mice against oxidative damage and consequent damage caused by intense exercise