Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Department of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
2 Department of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
Abstract
Obesity and overweight are associated with many chronic diseases, including diabetes and increased inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks of saffron supplementation along with resistance training on leptin, interleukin-6, , insulin and insulin resistance levels in overweight men. 40 overweight students were randomly divided into 4 groups: exercise (n=10), exercise + supplement (n=10), supplement (n=10), and control (n=10). The exercise group performed resistance training for 8 weeks, 3 sessions of 90 minutes each week in the evening. The supplement and exercise + supplement groups used saffron tablets at a dose of 30 mg as a supplement. Blood samples were collected in two stages, pre-test and post-test, to measure plasma levels of leptin, interleukin-6, insulin, and glucose. Insulin resistance values were calculated from blood glucose and insulin concentrations. Paired t-test results showed a significant decrease in the serum levels of interleukin-6, glucose, insulin and insulin resistance in the post-test of the exercise, exercise + supplement and supplement groups compared to the pre-test (P<0.05). The results of the one-way analysis of variance test showed a significant difference in the levels of leptin, interleukin-6, glucose, insulin and insulin resistance between the research groups (P<0.05). The levels of interleukin-6, leptin and serum glucose in the exercise, exercise + supplement and supplement groups were significantly lower compared to the control group. Also, the levels of these variables in the exercise + supplement group were significantly lower compared to the exercise and supplement groups (P<0.05). These results indicate that the combination of saffron supplementation and resistance training had greater effects compared to the effects of each of them alone.
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