THE EFFECT OF SEDI HERBA ON THE METABOLISM OF FREE RADICALS IN LIVER TISSUES OF RATS AFTER EXERCISE

Objective: The research aims to explore Sedi Herba's effect on the metabolism of free radicals in liver tissues of rats after exercise and its impact on exercise capacity. Methods: 24 healthy SD rats (male) were randomly divided into the control group (A), exhaustion group (B), and exhaustion and medicine group (C). All groups are provided with free access to water and essential fodder. Subjects in Group C were administered Sedi Herba 3 hours before exercise, 400 mg/kg, through gavage. During the experiment, the control group was feed without any exercise while Group B and C went through a one-week adaptive training on the treadmill, which is further followed with a seven-week-long endurance exercise with increasing load. At the last day of the experiment, subjects from Group B and C were forced to exercise to exhaustion and decapitated immediately, while those from the control group were killed without exercise. Liver tissues from all subjects were collected and made into tissue homogenate as required in this experiment. Indicators of body defense system against free radicals were measured, including content of malondialdehyde (MDA), a product of lipid peroxidation, activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), activity of catalase (CAT), activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC). Results: The increase in Group C in SOD activity, CAT activity, GSH-Px activity and the T-AOC was statistically significant, as compared to the other groups, among which that of SOD and GSH-Px far exceeded the data collected in Group B (P<0.01). Moreover, content of MDA in Group C decreased significantly (P<0.01) when compared with group B. Further, Sedi Herba extended the exercise before exhaustion for 21.30%. Conclusion: Sedi Herba can significantly improve the activity of free radical-clearing enzymes in liver tissue of rats and the exercise capacity.