Many individuals with cardiovascular diseases undergo periodic physical conditioning with or without medication. Therefore, this study investigated the interaction of exercise training and chronic nitroglycerin treatment on blood pressure ( BP) and alterations in nitric oxide ( NO), glutathione (GSH), antioxidant enzyme activities and lipid peroxidation in rats. Fisher 344 rats were divided into four groups: ( 1) sedentary control, ( 2) exercise training for 8 weeks, ( 3) nitroglycerin ( 15 mg/kg, s.c. for 8 weeks) and (4) training + nitroglycerin for 8 weeks. BP, heart rate (HR) and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) were monitored weekly for 8 weeks using tail-cuff method and oxygen/carbon dioxide analyzer, respectively. The animals were sacrificed 24 h after last treatments and plasma isolated and analyzed using HPLC, ELISA and UV-VIS spectrophotometric techniques. The results show that exercise conditioning significantly enhanced NO production ( p < 0.001), GSH levels ( p < 0.001), GSH/ GSSG ratio ( p < 0.05) and the up-regulation of the activities of catalase ( CAT) ( p < 0.05), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) ( p < 0.001), and glutathione reductase (GR) ( p < 0.05), and depression of lactate levels ( p < 0.001) in the plasma of the rat. These biochemical changes were accompanied by a significant increase in RER ( p < 0.001) without a significant change in BP and HR. Chronic nitroglycerin administration significantly increased NO levels ( p < 0.05), GSH levels ( p < 0.001), superoxide dismutase ( SOD) activity ( p < 0.05), GST activity ( p < 0.05), and decreased MDA levels ( p < 0.05). These biochemical changes were accompanied by a significant decrease in BP ( p < 0.05) and without any significant changes in HR and RER. Interaction of exercise training and chronic nitroglycerin treatment resulted in normalization of plasma NO, MDA, lactate levels, and CAT activity. The combination of exercise and nitroglycerin significantly enhanced GSH levels ( p < 0.05), and the up-regulation of SOD ( p < 0.001), GSH-Px ( p < 0.05), GR ( p < 0.05) and GST ( p < 0.001) activities. These biochemical changes were accompanied by normalization of BP and a significant increased in RER ( p < 0.001). The data suggest that the interaction of physical training and chronic nitroglycerin treatment resulted in the maintenance of BP and the up-regulation of plasma antioxidant enzyme activities and GSH levels in the rat.
