ORIGINAL ARTICLE Organ and tissue-dependent effect of resveratrol and exercise on antioxidant defenses of old mice Bui Thanh Tung 1 • Elisabet Rodriguez-Bies 2 • Hai Nguyen Thanh 1 • Huong Le-Thi-Thu 1 • Pla ´cido Navas 2 • Virginia Motilva Sanchez 3 • Guillermo Lo ´pez-Lluch 2 Received: 28 October 2014 / Accepted: 20 April 2015 Ó Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 Abstract Background Oxidative stress has been considered one of the causes of aging. For this reason, treatments based on antioxidants or those capable of increasing endogenous antioxidant activity have been taken into consideration to delay aging or age-related disease progression. Aim In this paper, we determine if resveratrol and exer- cise have similar effect on the antioxidant capacity of different organs in old mice. Methods Resveratrol (6 months) and/or exercise (1.5 months) was administered to old mice. Markers of oxidative stress (lipid peroxidation and glutathione) and activities and levels of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, cata- lase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and transferase and thioredoxin reductases, NADH cytochrome B5-reductase and NAD(P)H-quinone acceptor oxidore- ductase) were determined by spectrophotometry and Western blotting in different organs: liver, kidney, skeletal muscle, heart and brain. Results Both interventions improved antioxidant activity in the major organs of the mice. This induction was ac- companied by a decrease in the level of lipid peroxidation in the liver, heart and muscle of mice. Both resveratrol and exercise modulated several antioxidant activities and pro- tein levels. However, the effect of resveratrol, exercise or their combination was organ dependent, indicating that different organs respond in different ways to the same stimulus. Conclusions Our data suggest that physical activity and resveratrol may be of great importance for the prevention of age-related diseases, but that their organ-dependent ef- fect must be taken into consideration to design a better intervention. Keywords Antiaging Á Antioxidant Á Resveratrol Á Exercise Á Old mice Introduction Imbalance in the activity of antioxidant enzymes and the production of free radicals by metabolic activities, mainly associated with mitochondria, have been associated with the aging process by the free radical theory of aging [1, 2]. The main radicals in cells are derived from reactive oxygen species (ROS) and have been considered active factors in aging and aging research because of their potential in- volvement in many degenerative diseases. These ROS are highly reactive and damage many biological macro- molecules such as DNA, RNA, protein and lipids [3]. For this, antioxidant enzymes constitute an important defense system to clear up the harmful ROS in vivo and to prevent oxidative damage of macromolecules. Resveratrol (trans-3,4 0 ,5-trihydroxystilbene) (RSV) is a naturally occurring phytoalexin found in red wine, berries and peanuts. RSV has shown many positive effects on biological systems ranging from cancer chemoprevention [4], prevention of inflammation [5] and antioxidant & Bui Thanh Tung tungasia82@yahoo.es 1 School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Floor 5 Building Y1, 144 Xuan Thuy, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam 2 Centro Andaluz de Biologı ´a del Desarrollo, Universidad Pablo de Olavide-CSIC, CIBERER, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Carretera de Utrera Km. 1, 41013 Seville, Spain 3 Departmento de Farmacologı ´a, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Sevilla, 41012 Seville, Spain 123 Aging Clin Exp Res DOI 10.1007/s40520-015-0366-8 Author's personal copy