Redox Status and Exercise Training-induced Adaptations

Summary

Excess fat accumulation is a key feature of overweight and obesity that is mainly driven by nutrient overload and insufficient physical activity. White adipose tissue displays lipid overload and hypertrophy accompanied by macrophages infiltration, hypoxia, inflammation and excess production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). An inflammatory response and ROS production are also evident in other metabolism regulating tissues and organs such as skeletal muscle, liver, pancreas and hypothalamus, contributing to a chronic inflammatory state, redox status disturbances and metabolic complications. There is overwhelming evidence showing that adults with overweight/obesity exhibit lower glutathione (GSH) levels in blood erythrocytes, skeletal muscle cells and subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue cells. GSH, a tripeptide consisting of the amino acids glutamate, cysteine and glycine, is the most abundant thiol-containing antioxidant in the human body and has been, recently, characterized as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of numerous chronic diseases, due to its potent intracellular redox buffering capacity. Interestingly, lower GSH levels have been associated with diet-induced weight loss resistance, while enhancement of GSH levels through N-acetylcysteine (NAC) supplementation reduces markers of oxidative stress, inflammation, insulin resistance, hypertension, endothelia dysfunction and improves vitamin D metabolism. NAC is a thiol donor that elicits antioxidant effects by (i) directly scavenging ROS and (ii) providing reduced cysteine through deacetylation, which supports the biosynthesis of endogenous GSH via the activity of γ-glutamylcysteine synthase. The aim of this study is to investigate whether NAC supplementation can enhance the exercise training-induced improvements on physical fitness and metabolic health in adult men and women with overweight/obesity.

Conditions

• Obesity
• Overweight (BMI > 25)

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

N Acetyl L Cysteine

Participants will participate in 3 multicomponent high-intensity interval training (m-HIIT) sessions per week over a 12-week period while receiving daily 1200 mg N-acetylcysteine (2 pills x 600 mg/day ).

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Placebo

Participants will participate in 3 multicomponent high-intensity interval training (m-HIIT) sessions per week over a 12-week period while receiving daily 2 placebo pills/day.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Thessaly

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Anastasia Rosvoglou, PhDc · University of Thessaly, Department of Physical Education and Sport Science

• Dimitrios Draganidis, PhD · University of Thessaly, Department of Physical Education and Sport Science

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

30 Years

Max Age

45 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-09-22

Primary Completion

2026-06-30

Completion

2026-12-30

Countries

• Greece

Study Locations