Abstract:
Obesity is thought to be a major factor in increasing oxidative stress and inflammatory markers, which contribute to the development of cardiovascular diseases. Either lutein or exercise has been demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. This study aims to assess the effects of lutein (L) in combination with physical exercise (Ph) on the hearts of rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD). There were 50 rats randomly divided into 2 groups, 40 rats were fed an HFD to induce obesity, while 10 rats were fed a standard diet for 17 weeks. After 12 weeks, 40 obese rats were randomly divided into the following 4 groups: high-fat diet (HFD), a high-fat diet plus lutein (HFD+L), a high-fat diet plus physical exercise (HFD+Ph), and a high-fat diet plus lutein plus physical exercise (HFD+L+Ph) for 5 weeks. Our data revealed that a combination of lutein and physical exercise decreases body weight gain and significantly reduces heart enzyme activity, oxidative stress markers, and inflammatory markers that were increased in HFD-fed rats. Also, the combination of lutein and physical exercise significantly increases antioxidant enzymes that were decreased in HFD-fed rats. Collectively, the effect of a combination of L and Ph is greater than the effect of either L or Ph alone, exhibiting that L and Ph are alternative approaches to improving heart health in HFD-fed rats by suppressing inflammation and reducing oxidative stress.
Page(s):
510-517
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Bioscience Research, Volume: 20, Issue: 2, Year: 2023
Keywords:
Obesity
,
Exercise
,
Heart
,
Highfat diet
,
Inflammatory markers
,
Exercise
,
Oxidative Stress markers
,
lutein