Introduction. Some athletes and non-athletes use peptide hormones to increase lean body mass and fat loss, but those effects on oxidative stress and antioxidant markers are unknown. The aim of this study was to show the physiological profile of oxidative stress and antioxidant markers in athletes and non-athletes following long-term self-administration of GH or IGF-1
Material and Methods. Seventy-five healthy young men with the history of peptide hormone (i.e., GH or IGF-1) use for at least 1 year (i.e., 3 to 4 times a year) or resistance exercise (RE) experience for at least 3 years volunteered to participate in this study and were divided into 5 selected groups including 1) GH use plus RE (GH+RE, n = 15), 2) IGF-1 use plus RE (IGF-1+RE, n = 15), 3) GH use (GH, n = 15), 4) IGF-1 use (IGF-1, n = 15), and 5) RE only (RE, n = 15). Blood sample was obtained one time in order to evaluate the resting concentration of oxidative stress markers including 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) and antioxidant defense systems (i.e., glutathione peroxidase [GPx], catalase [CAT], and glutamate [GLU]).
Results. There were no significant (p > 0.05) differences among the groups in the 8-OHdG, MDA, NO, GPx, CAT, and GLU levels.
Conclusions. Self-administration of peptide hormone and RE for at least 1 year is not accompanied by alterations in resting oxidative stress and the antioxidant system in male athletes and non-athletes.
