Acute effect of Tai Chi Yuttari-exercise on oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity in older women

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective: To compare the acute effects of Tai Chi Yuttari-exercise and walking exercises (with the same level of intensity) on oxidative stress and antioxidative capacity in older women. Methods: Six older women (average age, 72 years) performed 30 minutes of Tai Chi Yuttari-exercise and 30 minutes of walking (average speed, 2.72 km/h) 1 week apart. Their reactive oxygen metabolite-derived compounds (d-ROMs), as an indicator of oxidative stress, and biological antioxidant potential (BAP), as an indicator of antioxidant capacity, were measured before, immediately after, and 30 minutes after the exercise. We performed intragroup and intergroup comparisons for d-ROMs, BAP, and BAP/d-ROMs. Results: In the intragroup comparison, no significant differences were found in either group regarding d-ROMs, BAP, or BAP/d-ROM ratio in any of the time point. In the intergroup comparison, the walking exercise group exhibited significantly lower pre-exercise values for BAP and BAP/d-ROM ratio than the Tai Chi Yuttari-exercise group (P<.05), but there was no significant difference in any indicators immediately after or 30 minutes after the exercise. Conclusion: After performing Tai Chi Yuttari-exercise, our results may suggest that older women showed similar d-ROMs as indicators of oxidative stress, BAP, and BAP/d-ROMs ratios to those resulting from comfortable walking.