Background & Objectives: The antioxidant status of the cardiac tissue changes in diabetes, and increases the oxidative damage of the membrane and tissue. Given the possibly positive role of exercise training on antioxidant status, the aim of this study was to compare the effect of six weeks of endurance training on the activities of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase in the cardiac tissue of healthy and diabetic Wistar rats.
Materials & Methods: 24 adult male rats were randomly divided into 4 groups of 6 rats: diabetic training group (DT), diabetic control group (DC), healthy training group (HT) and healthy control group (HC). The animals performed 6 weeks of moderate-intensity endurance training. The heart tissues were extracted 24 hours after the last training session in order to measure the activities of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA test.
Results:  After 6 weeks of endurance training, the changes of glutathione peroxidase levels were significantly different in the diabetic training  group compared to the healthy and diabetic control groups with significance levels of (P=0/007) and (P=0/017) respectively. The levels of superoxide dismutase also increased significantly in the diabetic training group compared to the diabetic control group with the significance level of (P=0/025).
Conclusion: It appears that moderate-intensity endurance exercise might have a significant effect on the antioxidant system of the heart tissue of diabetic rats. Moreover, it could be helpful in preventing the development of cardiovascular complications from diabetes.