Biological Trace Element Research, vol.91, no.2, pp.173-177, 2003 (SCI-Expanded)
In this study, we investigated the effects of acute exercise on tissue levels of iron, magnesium, and uric acid of rats. Twenty adult Wistar albino rats were used for the study. They were divided into two groups: controls (n=10) and the study group (n=10). The study group was left into a small water pool and allowed to do swimming exercise for 30 min while controls rested. All of the animals were sacrificed, and their livers and spleens removed and homogenized immediately. The iron, magnesium, and uric acid levels of the homogenates were measured by an autoanalyzer (ILAB 900, Italy) with commercial kits from the same company. Results were evaluated by the Mann-Whitney U-test. According to our results, the liver iron levels increased significantly with exercise, whereas spleen iron levels decreased significantly (p<0.05) compared to controls. We found no significant differences in the levels of the other two parameters with exercise. These results show that the iron distribution in organs changes with exercise.