Oxidative stress in equine medicine - Current knowledge

Oxidative stress has become of increasing interest in research and human medicine. Oxidants or reactive oxygen species are generated by metabolic reactions and play an important role for the immune defence and the "redox-regulation" of gene expression, In physiological conditions, different categories of antioxidants maintain the equilibrium between the pro-oxidant burden and the endogenous antioxidant defence. However, when an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants in favour of oxidants occurs, oxidative stress might induce irreversible lesions that can be evidenced and characterised by oxidant markers. In equine medicine, it has been shown that oxidative stress is occurring in lower airway disease and equine motor neuron disease. Moreover, adopted antioxicants therapy appears to have a beneficial effect on the antioxidant-oxidant imbalance. Exercise-induced oxidative stress and its impact on animal welfare and performance are also under investigation in equine sports medicine, Oxidative stress has been demonstrated to cepend on exercise type, intensity and duration. It might be modulated by training and/or adopted antioxidant therapy, aiming to maintain the antioxidant-oxidant equilibrium and thereby to improve animal welfare.