Plasma Malondialdehyde as Biomarker of Lipid Peroxidation: Effects of Acute Exercise

The marker most frequently used to indicate the level of lipid peroxidation in the field of exercise and sports is malondialdehyde (MDA), which can be determined by many different techniques. However, there are few studies discussing differences and advantages of the methods for MDA assay in sports science field. The aim of the present study was to compare three techniques for quantification of MDA in plasma of humans subjected to acute exercise. MDA was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (MDA-HPLC), thiobarbituric acid reactive species (MDA-TBARS) and 1-methyl-2-phenylindole (MDA-MP) techniques in the plasma of 8 healthy male soccer athletes before and after acute exercise. Acute exercise significantly increased (P<0.05) plasma MDA concentration determined by MDA-HPLC (18%) and MDA-TBARS (56%) techniques. MDA-MP technique did not reveal significant differences, although it increased 25% after exercise. When correlated to the gold standard (MDA-HPLC), MDA-TBARS and MDA-MP techniques showed weak Lin concordance coefficients and non-significant correlation. Also, MDA-TBARS and MDA-MP techniques overestimated the MDA-HPLC technique by 100 and 122%, respectively. In conclusion, MDA-HPLC and MDA-TBARS are sensitive to detect change in MDA induced by acute exercise. MDA-HPLC is the most suitable technique for accurate detection of MDA in sports and exercise area due to its sensitivity and accuracy.