The Effect of High Intensity Interval Training with High-Fat Diet on Levels of Glutathione Peroxidase and Malondialdehyde in Heart Tissue of Wistar Rats

It has been found that a high-fat diet increases the oxidative stress of the heart, which may be effective in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of a high-fat diet and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on the levels of glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in heart tissue of rats.

In this experimental study, 21 male Wistar rats within the age range of 12-14 weeks were randomly assigned to three groups, including normal diet (n=7), high-fat diet (n=7), and high-fat diet+HIIT (n=7). Animals in the high-fat diet groups received a high-fat diet for 23 weeks. At the same time, the high-fat diet+HIIT group received a high-fat diet followed by performing the HIIT protocol on the treadmill three times a week in the final eight weeks. At the end of the intervention, the levels of GPX enzyme and MDA in heart tissue were assessed using the enzyme colorimetric method. The data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance followed by post hoc Tukey test at the significant level of P<0.05.

The results demonstrated no significant changes in GPX (P=0.14) and MDA (P=0.214) heart tissue levels in all three groups: normal diet, high-fat diet, and high-fat diet+HIIT.

It seems that performing eight weeks of HIIT has no effect on oxidative stress markers in rats with a high-fat diet.