Majallah-i Dānishgāh-i ̒Ulūm-i Pizishkī-i Bābul (Mar 2024)
The Effect of Aerobic Exercise and Berberine Chloride on Mitochondrial Biogenesis Indices of Visceral Adipose Tissue of Diabetic Rats
Abstract
Background and Objective: Oxidative stress contributes to insulin resistance, beta-cell dysfunction, and hyperglycemia-induced cellular damage, leading to diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study is to explain the effect of aerobic exercise and berberine chloride on the expression of UCP-1 and PPARγ genes in the visceral fat tissue of diabetic rats. Methods: In this laboratory study, 32 adult male Wistar rats weighing about 240-280 were randomly divided into four groups (n=8): diabetes (DM), diabetes-berberine (DMB), diabetes-aerobic exercise (DMT), diabetes-aerobic exercise-berberine (DMTB). The rats became diabetic by injecting 60 mg/kg STZ. The rats whose blood sugar was higher than 300 mg/dl were included in the present study as diabetic animals. The exercise groups then performed an incremental aerobic exercise program (10-18 m/min, 10-40 min/day, five days/week) on a treadmill for six weeks. The supplement group also received berberine chloride (30 mg/kg/day) orally by gavage once a day. Findings: Data analysis showed that there is a significant difference in the expression of UCP-1 (p=0.000) and PPARγ (p=0.002) genes between the groups. Furthermore, the results showed that the expression of UCP-1 gene in the diabetes-exercise group (2.96±1.85 and p=0.015), diabetes-berberine chloride (2.88±1.16 and p=0.02) and diabetes-exercise-berberine chloride (4.7±0.97 and p=0.000) showed a significant increase compared to the diabetes group. Also, PPARγ gene expression in the diabetes-exercise-berberine chloride group (1.6±0.36 and p=0.002) showed a significant increase compared to the diabetes group. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, aerobic exercise and berberine chloride is one of the possible ways to prevent inflammation and damage caused by diabetes.
