To evaluate the effect of exercise, training and vitamin E supplementation on serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI), sixteen adult untrained Arabian horses were divided into 2 groups of 8 animals each, control and supplemented with vitamin E. Both groups had incremental exercise tests performed on a high-speed treadmill at a +7% slope, before (P1) and after (P2) a training period of 20 days. Serum concentrations of MDA, vitamin E and cTnI, and resting electrocardiogram were performed before and after P1 and P2. Results suggested that oxidative stress was induced by exercise as measured by serum MDA increase. In some animals, there was a subtle increase in cTnI concentration associated with the detection of ventricular premature complexes, which didn't represent a significant cardiac injury. There was no training effect on oxidative stress. It was concluded that, under the conditions above, the incremental exercise promoted lipoperoxidation, which was not prevented by vitamin E supplementation or training, however, it was not enough to cause a significant cardiac damage.
oxidative stress; cardiac metabolism; horse; sports medicine
