What is the combined effects of ginkgo biloba extract (EGb761) and acute exhaustive exercise on the thiol-dsulfide homeostasis in rats?

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the alone and combined effects of ginkgo biloba extract (EGb761) and acute exhaustive exercise on thiol-disulfide homeostasis (TDH) in male rats. Four experimen- tal groups were formed with total 32 rats. Animals in the control and exercise groups received 2 mL/kg of 0.9% saline solution 5 days a week for 4 weeks, while the others in the ginkgo biloba and ginkgo biloba plus exercise groups received 100 mg/kg of EGb761 for the same duration. At the end of this period, rats in groups E and GB+E were made to run on a treadmill at 25 m/min at 5% incline until exhaustion. All plasma samples were evaluated for malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) levels, superoxide dismutase activity (SOD), and TDH. The findings of the study showed that exercise significantly increased MDA levels (P < .001) and SOD activity (P < .05) in group GB+E, while only MDA levels were decreased significantly (P < .05) in group GB. On the other hand, neither exercise nor EGb761 could affect the NO levels and the parameters related to TDH (P > .05). Although EGb761 can prevent oxidative stress by reducing MDA, its usage in exercise still needs to be further investigated, especially in terms of TDH that is a new important oxidative stress marker.