The Effect of Resistance Training Along with the Consumption of Saffron Extract on the Expression of Bax, Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 Genes in the Hippocampal Tissue of Male Alzheimer's Induced Rats

Considering that Alzheimer's is a destructive disease with progressive disorders and memory loss and there is no definitive treatment for it, the purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of resistance training along with the consumption of saffron extract on the expression of Bax, Bcl-2 and Caspase genes. 3-Alzheimer was induced in the hippocampal tissue of male Alzheimer's rats.

In this experimental study, 32 adult rats were randomly divided into 4 Alzheimer's groups, including control groups, aerobic exercises, aerobic exercises + saffron extract, and saffron extract. Alzheimer's was induced by injecting amyloid beta 42-1 into the hippocampus. Resistance exercises including 3 sessions per week were performed for 8 weeks. Real Time PCR method was used to determine the expression level of the target genes. The data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and Tom Hen's post hoc test.

The results showed that after 8 weeks of resistance training, the expression of Bax gene in the intervention groups significantly decreased compared to the control group. Also, the expression of Bcl-2 gene in the control and resistance training group and the resistance training and extract group showed a significant decrease compared to the control group. The expression of caspase3 gene in the control + resistance training group and the resistance training and extract group showed a significant decrease compared to the control group.

It seems that resistance training and consumption of saffron extract decrease the expression of genes involved in apoptosis in Alzheimer's male rats.