Despite the many known health benefits of exercise, there is a body of evid
ence suggesting that endurance exercise is associated with oxidative stress
. To determine whether extreme endurance exercise induces lipid peroxidatio
n, 11 athletes (3 females, 8 males) were studied during a 50 km ultramarath
on (trial 1) and during a sedentary protocol (trial 2) 1 month later. The e
vening before each trial, with dinner, subjects consumed 75 mg each d(3)-RR
R and d(6)-all rac-alpha -tocopheryl acetates. Blood was obtained at baseli
ne, 30 min pre-race, mid-race, post-race, 1 h post-race, 24 h post-race, an
d at corresponding times during trial 2. All I I subjects completed the rac
e; average run time was 391 +/- 23 min. Plasma F-2-isoprostanes increased f
rom 75 +/- 7 pg/ml at pre-race to 131 +/- 17 (p < .02) at post-race, then r
eturned to baseline at 24 h post-race; F-2-isoprostanes were unchanged duri
ng trial 2. Deuterated alpha -tocopherol disappearance rates were faster (2
.8 X 10(-4) +/- 0.2 X 10(-4)) during the race compared to the sedentary tri
al (2.3 X 10(-4) 0.2 X 10(-4); p < .03). These data suggest that extreme en
durance exercise results in the generation of lipid peroxidation with a con
comitant increase in vitamin E disappearance. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc
.