Interactive Effects of Endurance Training With Royal Jelly Consumption on Motor Balance in an Experimental Encephalomyelitis Model

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating factor of the central nervous system that leads to decreased balance and increased risk of falls. The aim of this study was to investigate the interactive effects of endurance training (T) with royal jelly (RJ) consumption on the motor balance of rats with MS. 

In this experimental study, 56 rats with MS (using complete Freund’s adjuvant) were divided in 7 groups of eight animals, including: 1) control (MS), 2) Sham (royal jelly solvent), 3) 50 mg/kg RJ, 4) 100 mg/kg RJ, 5) T, 6) T+RJ50, 7) T+RJ100. Rats in the royal jelly consumption groups received the prescribed doses of royal jelly peritoneally each day for 5 weeks. Also, rats in the endurance training groups performed endurance training on a rat treadmill for five weeks, five sessions per week, each session 30 minutes at a speed of 11 m/min. At the end of 48 hours after the last training session and royal jelly consumption, the motor balance of rats was measured using a rotarod device. Also, the weight of brain cerebellum tissue was measured by a digital scale. The one-way analysis of variance with Tukey’s post hoc test were used to analyze the findings (P≥0.05). 

The duration of motor balance in the T, T + RJ50 and T + RJ100 groups was significantly higher than the MS group (P = 0.001); also, in the T + RJ50 and T + RJ100 groups, it was significantly higher than the RJ50 and RJ100 groups (P = 0.001). 

It appears that training and royal jelly consumption have an interactive effect on improving motor balance, and improving motor balance is training-dependent. Given the existence of effective physiological mechanisms, it seems necessary to conduct further studies by examining the pathological and physiological aspects.