Effect of Different Exercise Modalities on Oxidative Stress: A Systematic Review

Table 1

The study characteristics of included studies.

Reference	Study population	Mean age (years; E/C)	No. of participants (E/C)	Intervention	Assessment	Main results
González-Bartholin et al. [23]	Chile		10	Ten healthy individuals participated in this study, and they performed a concentric cycling incremental test and moderate- and high-intensity concentric and eccentric cycling using a recumbent ergometer.	PCO; MDA	Oxidative markers like PCO and MDA were analyzed, and moderate intensity of eccentric and concentric cycling did not increase oxidative stress and further muscle damage, but high-intensity exercise increases the OS and muscle damage.
Motameni et al. [24]	Iran	26.30 ± 4.95	10	All the participants performed the following exercise: hypertrophy type resistance exercise, strength, and power type resistance exercise.	H2O2; MDA	The study results observed that no resistance training increased OS.
Çakır-Atabek et al. [25]	Turkey	25.50 ± 4.72/29.00 ± 5.87	8/8	Intensity of resistance exercise consists of leg extension which is standardized for total volume: reps at 50% of 1RM, reps at 60% of 1RM, reps at 70% of 1RM, reps at 80% of 1RM, and reps at 90% of 1RM with 5 minutes of rest between intensities and 90–120 seconds of rest between sets.	LHP; PCO; SOD	LHP, PCO, and SOD were increased during resistance exercise, and the study suggests that different combinations of intensities are more beneficial to combat oxidative stress.
Kozakiewicz et al. [26]	Poland	46/65	46/112	For the intervention group, the protocol consisted of moderate leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) .	Isoprostane, PCO, MDA	The concentration of isoprostanes, PCO, and MDA decreased in the active subjects, but it depends on the aging condition.
Fatouros et al. [27]	Greece	72.8 ± 4.8	11/11	The endurance training group for 16 weeks consists of 3–5 min warmup, which consisted of light walking at approximately 40% of their maximal heart rate (attained during the exercise test), and 3–5 min warmup, which consisted of light walking at approximately 40% of their maximal heart rate (attained during the exercise test). Briefly, subjects walked/jogged at 50–80% of HRmax (0% grade) for 12–42 min each time (duration increased 2 min every week).	MDA, GPx, and TAC	Four months of endurance training decreased the oxidative stress and increased antioxidant status.
Bloomer et al. [28]	USA		13	The exercise training session consists of sprint and squat tests (the sprint consisted of a standard 30 s Wingate test using a Monark cycle ergometer modified to conduct Wingate testing at a load equal to 7% of subjects’ body weight) (the squat test consisted of performing 15 repetitions using a load equal to 70% of subjects’ (system mass), using a Smith machine).	PCO; MDA; 8-oxodG	PCO was elevated following both squat and sprint exercise, whereas DNA oxidation and lipid were minimally affected.
Bogdanis et al. [29]	Greece		8	Participants performed HIIT sessions, and the session consists of four to six 30 s bouts of high-intensity cycling.	PCO; TBARS; GPx	One session of HIT increased the oxidative stress along with increasing antioxidants, but a short session decreased the oxidative stress along with improving antioxidants.
Bouzid et al. [30]	France	21.4 ± 1.9/20.3 ± 2.8	16/15	Participants performed the incremental exercise test until exhaustion on an electrically braked cycle ergometer.	MDA; SOD; GPx; GR	Regular physical exercise decreases lipid peroxidation, but it depends on aging condition.
Nikolaidis et al. [31]	Greece		12	Isokinetic exercise session consists of 75 lengthening knee flexions, which were repeated after 3 weeks.	TAC; TBARS; PCO; GSH; CAT	Repeated bout of lengthening contractions induced much less muscle damage and blood oxidative stress than the first bout.
Wozniak et al. [32]	Poland	23.8 ± 2.9	20	Running, ski running, power-house, and football.	TBARS; SOD; CAT	Increased the ROS generation after the exercise along with increasing SOD and CAT.
Campbell et al. [33]	USA	60.7 ± 6.7/60.6 ± 6.8	87/86	All participants were allowed to perform maximal graded treadmill.	F2-isoprostane	Exercisers increased maximal O2 uptake, and F2-isoprostane decreased in exercisers, suggesting that aerobic exercise, when accompanied by relatively marked gains in aerobic fitness, decreases oxidative stress.
Franzke et al. [34]	Austria	(65–83)	41/40	Resistance training consists of elastic bands, chairs, and own body weight.	GSH; 8-oxo-dG; MDA; CAT; SOD	Six months of elastic band resistance training improved physical function, as well as overall redox status. Better fitness level was linked to reduced oxidative DNA damage.
Arikawa et al. [35]	USA	18-30	166/153	16-week aerobic exercise intervention consists of 30 minutes of weight-bearing aerobic exercise, five times per week, at a specified intensity based on age-predicted heart rate maximum (HRmax). Exercise intensity increased every four weeks to reach 80–85% of HRmax.	F2-isoprostanes	Benefits of aerobic exercise in reducing systemic oxidative stress may be limited to those who present higher baseline levels of plasma F2-isoprostanes.
Deminice et al. [36]	Brazil	25.9 ± 2.8	11	Hypertrophy-resistance traditional interval training (3310 repetitions at 75% of the 1 repetition maximum (1RM), with 90-second passive rest) and hypertrophy-resistance circuit training (3310 repetitions at 75% of the 1RM, in alternating performance of 2 exercises with different muscle groups) in 2 different weeks.	TBARS; GSH; MDA	Circuit resistance hypertrophy training lowered the oxidative stress and antioxidants when compared to resistance training.
Ramel et al. [37]	Austria	28.2 ± 3.9/31.3 ± 10.2	17	Resistance exercise circuit (bench press, leg press, latissimus dorsi pull, leg extension, shoulder press, triceps exercise, crunch, vertical row, biceps curl and pull up), and their one-repetition maximum (1RM) for each exercise.	MDA; Ascorbic acid	Plasma MDA and CD concentrations increase after exercise.
Rowiński et al. [38]	Poland	65–69	481	Long walking, gardening, fishing, picking mushrooms, swimming, skiing, team games.	Isoprostanes; SOD; GPx; CAT	Physical activity resulted in a decrease in plasma iso-PGF2α and protein carbonyl concentration, but OS is intensified with aging.
de Gonzalo-Calvo et al. [39]	Spain	79 ± 5/74 ± 5	13/13	Training was self-directed and combined endurance and resistance activities.	MDA; 4-HNE; SOD; TAC	Results indicate that chronic exercise from middle age to old age increases oxidative damage; however, chronic exercise appears to be an effective strategy to attenuate the age-related decline in the elderly.
Spanidis et al. [40]	Greece	22.5 ± 0.58	22/18	An eccentric exercise session was performed on an isokinetic dynamometer, and exercise protocols were undertaken from the seated position (120° hip angle) with the lateral femoral condyle aligned with the axis of rotation of the dynamometer.	PCO; MDA; TAC CAT	Trained individuals are less susceptible to oxidative damage.

Note: E: experimental group; C: control group; PCO: protein carbonyl; TBARS: thiobarbituric acid reactive substances; MDA: malondialdehyde; TAC: total antioxidant capacity; GR: glutathione reductase; SOD: superoxide dismutase; GPx: glutathione peroxidase; CAT: catalase; GSH: glutathione; 4-HNE: 4-hydroxynonenal; LHP: lipid hydroperoxide; ROS: reactive oxygen species; H₂O₂: hydrogen peroxide; 8-oxodG: 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine; 8-oxo-dG: 8-oxo-2-deoxyguanosine.