The effects of chronic administration of nandrolone decanoate on redox status in exercised rats

For the past 40 years, anabolic–androgenic steroids have been used by a wide variety of athletes with the hope of improving their training, endurance, and performance. The aim of this study was to examine the chronic effects of nandrolone decanoate (20 mg/kg, s.c, Deca-Durabolin DECA®) on oxidative stress biomarkers in the hearts of sedentary and exercised rats. The male Wistar albino rats (n = 180, four groups with three subgroups, 15 per subgroup, age 10 weeks, body mass 200–220 g) were sacrificed, and in the collected samples of blood, the following markers of oxidative stress were measured spectrophotometrically: (1) index of lipid peroxidation (measured as TBARS-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances); (2) nitrites (NO2 −); (3) hydrogen peroxide (H2O2); (4) superoxide anion radical (O2 −), and superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione reductase. The results clearly show that the impact of ND alone, or in combination with physical training in general, is mildly pro-oxidative. The chronic physical training probably induces the protective antioxidant enzyme system , which may be of clinical interest when faced with overdosage of this drug.