Exercise and Antioxidant Capacity of Uric Acid

Sofia Tsalouhidou, Anatoli Petridou, & Vassilis Mougios

Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Hellas

Abstract

In the past decades oxidative stress has become a common subject of discussion and research in the area of sports science, since regular exercise seems to improve the antioxidant system of the body as an adaptation to oxidative stress. The aim of the present review is to examine the effect of exercise on the concentration of one of the predominant blood antioxidants, uric acid, which has the feature of causing gout at high concentrations. As the majority of the relevant studies show, acute exercise elevates the uric acid concentration as a result of increased ATP degradation, of which uric acid is the final product. The increase in uric acid after exercise lasts one day at the most, usually without causing hyperuricemia (concentration above normal). The few studies that examined the adaptation of uric acid to regular long-term exercise have found that trained individuals have higher uric acid concentration at rest and after exercise than non-exercising persons. Phar- macological treatments (allopurinol) that reduce uric acid in pathological conditions prevent its increase with exercise, whereas it is doubtful whether dietary treatments exist that affect the response of uric acid to exercise. In conclusion, exercise can increase the plasma concentration of uric acid without causing hyperuricemia. This increase may contribute to the antioxidant capacity of the body.

Key words: uric acid, plasma