Introduction: Soccer is an intermittent-type sport that lead into muscle damage due to an acute-phase inflammatory response characterized by free radical production (1). These free radicals can be neutralized by a wide range of endogenous antioxidants for the maintenance of redox status and cellular function (2). Different antioxidant status responses have been shown following a soccer match and during recovery (3) but a complete screening of markers of oxidative stress following a soccer game has not been published yet and is still an issue to determine. Methods: Fourteen injury-free, male elite players (age 17.4±0.6 years, weight 70.2±6.2 kg, height 175±0.05 cm) from the Athletic Club of Bilbao participated in this study. Participants competed in SUB-19 division and trained 6 days per week. Blood samples were obtained at rest, immediately after and 36h after the competition game. Serum levels of Total Antioxidant Status (TAS), Reduced Glutathione (GSH), thioburbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and protein carbonyls were measured, as well as the activity of antioxidant enzymes: Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) and Catalase (CAT). One way ANOVA for repeated measures and Friedman`s ANOVA were used for the statistical analysis. The significance level was set at p<0.05. Results: Higher levels of TAS (0.97±0.1 vs 1.19±0.2 mmol/l, p<0.01) and CAT (24.7±18 vs. 51±19 nmol/min/ml, p<0.01) were observed immediately after playing the soccer match. After 36 hours, levels of TAS (0.97±0.1 vs 1.28±0.3 mmol/l,p< 0.01), CAT (24.7±18 vs. 46.5±21 nmol/min/ml, p< 0.01) and SOD (0.14±0.06 vs. 0.23±0.07 U/ml, p<0.01) were still higher than the rest values. Discussion: Only two antioxidant enzymes were found to be altered following a soccer match, such as CAT and SOD. Although CAT uses the same substrate than GPx, CAT is more efficient with lower H2O2 concentration. Therefore, the low free radicals produced after playing the match could explain the no significance in other markers of oxidative damage, such as TBARS or protein carbonyls which means that lipid and protein oxidation might not have occurred. Moreover, the increase of blood total antioxidant capacity after 36 hours could prove the beneficial effect of soccer in the maintenance of redox status for protecting cellular function.
© Copyright 2014 19th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Amsterdam, 2. - 5. July 2014. Veröffentlicht von VU University Amsterdam. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.