The Effect of Aerobic Training Combined with Garlic Supplementation on Total Antioxidant Capacity and Protein Carbonyl in the Brain Tissue of Aged Rats with Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Introduction: Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, the present research aims to evaluate the effect of eight weeks of aerobic training combined with garlic supplementation on brain tissue’s total antioxidant capacity and carbonyl protein in elderly rats with Parkinson’s disease.Methods: In this experimental study, 40 male Sprague Dawley breed Parkinsonian rats, treated with 2 mg/kg of reserpine, were divided into four groups of eight rats each. The groups included Reserpine, Aerobic training, Garlic supplement, Aerobic training and a healthy control group. Aerobic training was performed for eight weeks, five sessions per week, with a duration of 15 to 48 minutes at a speed of 10 to 24 meters per minute. Additionally, a daily garlic supplement of 500 mg/kg was administered by gavage. All statistical operations were performed using SPSS version 26 software. One-way analysis of variance and Tukey’s post hoc test were used to analyze the data.Results: Protein carbonyl values in the Aerobic Training, Garlic, and Aerobic Training + Garlic groups were significantly lower than the reserpine group (P=0.001). In addition, it was significantly lower in the Aerobic Training + Garlic group than in the Garlic group (P=0.02). Also, total antioxidant capacity values in the Garlic, Aerobic, and Aerobic Training groups were significantly lower than in the reserpine group (P=0.001).Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that exercise combined with garlic supplementation is an effective treatment method for modulating oxidative stress and protein oxidation in rats with Parkinson’s disease.

Keywords

• parkinson’s disease
• exercise
• garlic
• antioxidants
• protein carbonylation