Studies on the amounts of serum hydroperoxide, MMP-3, urinary 8-OHdG, and salivary IgA in rheumatoid arthritis patients who experienced Shinrin-yoku (forest-air bathing and walking)

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Shinrin-yoku, forest-air bathing and walking, is expected to be beneficial for the health of humans, but its effectiveness has not been clarified unequivocally by biophysical and biochemical analysis. In the present study, the amounts of oxidative damages after forest walking were compared with those after walking in an urban environment. Twelve female patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) aged 48-62 years-old and eleven healthy female volunteers aged 48-52 years-old walked in Chiba City at noon for 1 hr, and then moved by bus to a forest park on the first experimental day, followed by staying for one night in the park area. On the next day, they walked in the forest at noon for 1 hr according to their physical ability. RA patients in one group after forest walking showed decreased amounts of serum hydroperoxide and increased urine 7,8-dihydro-8-oxodeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels, as estimated by a Diacron-Reactive Oxygen Metabolites (dROM) assay and an ELISA method, respectively, in comparison with those after city walking. In RA patients, the amounts of salivary IgA (sIgA), as estimated by an ELISA method, increased after forest walking. The amounts of serum matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3), as estimated by an ELISA method, decreased after forest walking.These results were concordant with the notion for the suppression of oxidative stress and modulation of immunological and/or enzymatic physiological functions by forest walking.
2011-10-01