The Effect of High-intensity Interval Training and High-Protein Diet on the Total Oxidant Status and Total Antioxidant Capacity in Cardiac Tissue of Obese Male Rats

Obesity causes oxidative stress and is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Exercises and diet modification can affect oxidant and antioxidant factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and high-protein diet (HPD) on total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and the ratio of TAC to TOS in the heart tissue of obese male rats. Forty 12-week-old obese male rats (Lee index above 310) were divided into five groups of eight including HIIT (5-12 intervals of 30 seconds with an intensity of 90% VO2max, 5 sessions per week, 10 weeks), HPD (about 57.5% of total calories from protein), HIIT+HPD, obese control-1 (OC-1) and obese control-2 (OC-2) and eight non-obese mice were also divided into the non-obese control (NC) group. became After 48 hours from the last intervention session, heart tissue was removed to measure TAC and TOS levels. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance, post hoc Tukey, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests at a significance level of p ≤ 0.05. The results showed that the TAC level of heart tissue in the HIIT, HPD, HIIT+HPD groups was significantly higher than in the OC-1 group. On the other hand, the TOS level of heart tissue was significantly lower in the HIIT and HIIT+HPD groups than in the HPD and OC-2 groups. Also, the ratio of TAC to TOS was significantly higher in the HIIT and HIIT+HPD groups compared to the OC-2 group. According to the results, a combination of HIIT and HPD improves TAC and TOS of heart tissue. It seems that HIIT together with HPD strengthens the antioxidant system and reduces oxidative stress in obesity conditions.