Investigation of the effect of acute exercise on oxidative stress and thiol-disulfide homeostasis in soccer players

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of acute exercise on oxidative stress and thiol-disulfide homeostasis in male soccer players. Thirty-two male soccer players from Şanlıurfa 11 Nisan Sports Club, a Turkish Football Federation Regional Amateur League (RAL) team, with a mean age of 21.36±0.56 years, a mean body weight of 70.58±1.60 kg, a mean height of 178.31±1.62 cm, and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 22.16±0.26 kg/m², with a sports history of at least 7 years, who regularly train 2 hours a day, 5 days a week, participated voluntarily in the study. After a 15-minute warm-up exercise, the Conconi Test was performed until fatigue was reached. Pre- and post-exercise oxidative stress levels and thiol-disulfide homeostasis (TDH) parameters were analyzed by an automated spectrophotometric method. SPSS 26 (Statistical package for social sciences) package program was used in the statistical analysis of the data. “Paired sample t test” was used to determine the differences between the pre-test and post-test. The significance between the differences was determined at P<0.05 level. Although an increase in oxidative stress levels was observed after exercise, this increase was not statistically significant (p>0.05). When thiol-disulfide homeostasis before and after exercise was compared, it was found that post-exercise values were significantly higher (p<0.05). This study, it is noteworthy that the negative effects of acute exercise on oxidative stress were not observed in soccer players in the literature. This may be explained by the strengthening of the antioxidant defense mechanisms of the participating soccer players due to their long-term sports history and the related positive adaptations. It is thought that regular and long-term exercise is effective in maintaining thiol-disulfide balance by strengthening the body’s antioxidant defense system, thus reducing the negative effects of oxidative stress and minimizing disease risks.