The Effect of Eight Weeks of Testosterone Enanthate Consumption on Oxidative Indicators of Kidney Tissue in Resistance Trained Rats

Introduction: Taking anabolic steroids can affect the state of oxidative stress in different tissues of the body such as kidneys. This study aimed to examine the effect of 8 weeks of resistance training with testosterone enanthate consumption on tissue oxidation indicators in male rats. Methods: In the current experimental study, 18 rats with an average weight of 250 ± 50 g were divided into 3 groups of 6 animals including: (1) control, (2) training, and (3) training + testosterone. Rats in the training and training + testosterone groups underwent resistance training for 8 weeks and 5 sessions per week. Also, rats in the training + testosterone group received 20 mg/kg of testosterone enanthate by intramuscular injection 3 days a week. The resistance training protocol consisted of climbing a 1-meter ladder 5 days a week (4 sets of 6 with a rest interval of 60 to 90 seconds) in which the weights were 60% of the rats’ body weights in the first week, and 20% of the body weight was added to the weights every week. One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the research findings (P≤0.05). Results: Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) level in the training + testosterone group was significantly lower than the control group (P = 0.007); however, there were no significant differences in malonaldehyde (MDA) (P = 0.64) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) (P = 0.29) levels between the research groups. Conclusion: It seems that testosterone consumption can be effective in increasing oxidative stress factors in the kidney tissue of resistance-trained rats.