Peripheral Lymphocyte DNA Damage and Oxidative Status in Football Players after a Three-day Football Tournament

Abstract

Regular physical activity is well known to play a cardioprotective role. The objective of this study was to investigate peripheral lymphocyte DNA damage and oxidative status in adult football players a three-day football tournament. Twenty-five adult male football players and 25 sedentary male subjects were enrolled in the present study. Plasma total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS) and the oxidative stress index (OSI) were determined. Peripheral lymphocyte DNA damage was determined using an alkaline comet assay. Plasma TOS, OSI and peripheral lymphocyte DNA damage were significantly lower in the adult football players than in the sedentary subjects (all: p<0.001), while TAS was significantly higher in the football players (p<0.001). The plasma TAS levels were inversely correlated with TOS, OSI and peripheral lymphocyte DNA damage (r = -0.683, p<0.001; r = -0.909, p<0.001; r = -0.608, p<0.001; respectively) in the adult football players. These results indicate that physical activity is associated with increased antioxidant capacity and decreased oxidative stress. Such conditions are important for a healthy life. Further studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying this association.