ABSTRACT
Male Kunming mice, weighing 20 ± 2 g, were supplied by the Hunan Biological Supplier (Changsha, China). The animals were bred in a temperaturecontrolled ((23 ± 2)°C), (55 ± 5)% humidity room
1 INTRODUCTION
It is well established that regular physical exercise has many beneficial effects to health. It improves cardiovascular function, vascular tone, muscular strength, and endurance (Hamurcu et al. 2010). However, intense or excessive exercise could cause oxidative damage in various kinds of cells and tissues due to excessive free radicals and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) produced from the increase in muscle oxygen consumption during exercise (Huang et al. 2013). The main sources of ROS during exercise are the mitochondrial respiratory chain, xanthine oxidase-catalyzed reaction, and neutrophil activation (Sureda et al. 2009). It was also suggested that exercise-induced oxidative damage may be prevented by optimizing nutrition, particularly by increasing the dietary content of nutritional antioxidants (Belviranl et al. 2012).
