A physically active lifestyle and regular exercise training incurs many health benefits. One recently recognized benefit of regular moderate exercise is stress reduction and immune enhancement. Thus, a physical stress such as exercise may act at any number of points in the complex sequence of events collectively termed the immune response. Although exercise causes many propound changes in parameters of immune function, the nature and magnitude of such changes rely on several factors including the immune parameters of interest; type, intensity, and duration of exercise; fitness level or exercise history of the subject; environmental factors such as ambient temperature and humidity.

This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of different type of exercise on superoxide dismutase (SOD), neutrophils, and T lymphocytes of Sprague-Dawley rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups; a non-Trained group (NTG, n=6), a swim-Trained group (STG), and a treadmill-Trained group (TTG). The exercise regimen was designed in a treadmill (5 times/5 days/week) during 8-weeks for TTG, and swim training (5 times/5 days/week) during 8-weeks for STG, and the volume of exercise training was the same in both groups.

8 weeks of regular swim and treadmill training significantly increased liver SOD concentration however, muscle SOD concentration was not statistically significant. In the level of neutrophils, TTG and STG showed significant difference, compared to NTG. TTG was the highest level of neutrophils. In the level of immune cell counts, there was significant difference among TTG, STG, and NTG both in the spleen and thymus.

In conclusion, it can be stated that eight weeks swim and treadmill exercise training has beneficial effect in improving immune response and antioxidant defence capacity by augmenting immune cells and SOD activities of SD rats.