Oxidative Stress Modulation and Glutathione System Response During a 10-Day Multi-Stressor Field Training
<b>Objectives:</b> To evaluate how a 10-day multi-stressor field-training course—combining high physical and psycho-emotional demands, caloric restriction, and severe sleep deprivation—affects systemic oxidative/antioxidative status and biomarkers of nucleic-acid and skeletal-muscle dama...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5142/10/2/166 |
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| Summary: | <b>Objectives:</b> To evaluate how a 10-day multi-stressor field-training course—combining high physical and psycho-emotional demands, caloric restriction, and severe sleep deprivation—affects systemic oxidative/antioxidative status and biomarkers of nucleic-acid and skeletal-muscle damage in trained military cadets. <b>Methods:</b> Seventy-five healthy cadets (8 women, 67 men; 22–34 y) completed the course. Standardised operational rations (700–800 kcal day<sup>−</sup>¹) and two 20 min tactical naps per 24 h were enforced. Pre- and post-course venous blood was collected after an overnight fast. Plasma superoxide-dismutase activity (SOD), reduced and oxidised glutathione (GSH, GSSG), malondialdehyde (MDA), and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) were quantified by colourimetric/fluorometric assays; 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and myoglobin were measured by ELISA. The oxidative-stress index (OSI) was calculated as GSSG·GSH<sup>−</sup>¹. Within-subject differences were assessed with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests; associations between biomarker changes were explored by Spearman correlation. <b>Results:</b> After training, GSH (+175%, <i>p</i> < 0.001) and GSSG (+32%, <i>p</i> < 0.001) rose significantly, whereas SOD (−19%, <i>p</i> = 0.002), H₂O₂ (−20%, <i>p</i> = 0.015), MDA (−50%, <i>p</i> < 0.001), 8-OHdG (−23%, <i>p</i> < 0.001), and OSI (−47%, <i>p</i> < 0.001) declined. Myoglobin remained unchanged (<i>p</i> = 0.603). Reductions in MDA correlated inversely with increases in GSSG (rₛ = −0.25, <i>p</i> = 0.041), while H₂O₂ changes correlated positively with GSSG (rₛ = 0.25, <i>p</i> = 0.046), indicating a glutathione-driven adaptive response. <b>Conclusions:</b> Ten consecutive days of vigorous, calorie- and sleep-restricted field training elicited a favourable redox adaptation characterised by enhanced glutathione-mediated antioxidant capacity and lower circulating oxidant concentrations, without evidence of DNA or skeletal-muscle damage. The data suggest that, in physically prepared individuals, prolonged multi-stressor exposure can strengthen endogenous antioxidant defences rather than precipitate oxidative injury. |
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| ISSN: | 2411-5142 |