Negative effect of high-calorie high-salt diet on spleen oxidant/antioxidants and structure: preventive effects of sprint interval training

Objective: We investigated the effect of a high-calorie high-salt diet and sprint interval training on oxidant/antioxidant status and structural changes in the spleen of male Wistar rats.Materials and Methods: Eighteen male Wistar rats were randomized into three groups: normal diet (ND), high-calorie high-salt diet (HCSD), and HCSD + sprint interval training (HCSD+SIT). Rats in HCSD and HCSD+SIT groups were under a high-calorie high-salt diet. The SIT (4-9 reps of 10 s duration sprints) performed 3 sessions/week for 8 weeks. Forty-eight hours after the last training session, spleen was removed and used for the assessment of oxidant/antioxidant status and histomorphometric parameters.Results: Results revealed that compared to the ND group, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) level, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were significantly lower (P 0.001) and malondialdehyde (MDA) level was significantly higher in the spleen tissue of the HCSD group (P 0.001) and there was no significant difference between the HCSD+SIT and ND groups in none of the assessed variables (P 0.05). Moreover, there was a significant increase in the red to white pulp ratio and a significant decrease in the number of lymph cells and splenic trabecular volume in the HCSD group (P 0.001). Nonetheless, in none of the assessed morphometric parameters, a significant difference was observed between the HCSD+SIT and ND groups (P 0.05).Conclusion: It seems that SIT training may avert HCSD-induced unfavourable changes in the spleen oxidant/antioxidant status and counteract the deleterious effects of the HCSD on the spleen structure.