Interactive effect of aerobic exercise with Saffron extract on serum, tumor necrosis factor-α and C-reactive protein in rats following an aerobic exercise until exhaustion

Objective: Aerobic training and Saffron has beneficial effects on inflammatory response. The present study aims to investigate the Interactive effect of aerobic training with Saffron extract on serum, tumor necrosis factor-α and C-reactive protein in rats following an aerobic exercise until exhaustion .Methods: This is a clinical trial, 48 Wistar male rats were assigned into following four groups (N=10): control )C) , Saffron extract) SE) , Aerobic training (AT) , Aerobic training + Saffron extract (AT+SE). Aerobic training was done for five times a week for 8 weeks. Saffron extract was administrated through oral gavage 100 mg.kg-1.day-1. The end of experiment, half of the rats was killed immediately before exhaustive training; on the other hand, remaining rats were killed immediately after performing an acute bout of exhaustive exercise on the treadmill. Serum enzymes C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels were measured by ELISA method. The data were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA, with the significance level of P < 0.05. Results: The results showed that following an exhausting exercise serum CRP and TNF-α in the AT+SE group significantly lower than compared to the C (P CRP = 0.001 ; P TNF-α = 0.001), SE (P CRP = 0.001 ; P TNF-α = 0.001) and AT groups (P CRP = 0.021 ; P TNF-α = 0.046). also, These indicators in the AT group significantly lower than compared to the C (P CRP = 0.004; P TNF-α = 0.039) and SE groups (P CRP = 0.014 ; P TNF-α = 0.043). There was no significant difference between the other groups. Conclusion: It seems that aerobic training only and combinational, with use of saffron extract reduced of the inflammatory response following an exhausting exercise.