The Effect of Eight Weeks of Endurance Training with Saffron on Cytochrome C and Calmodulin Kinase 2 on the Heart Tissue of Alzheimer’s Rats Treated With Trimethyl Tin (TMT)

Introduction: A proper diet and physical activity benefit Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of endurance training (ET) with saffron (Sa) consumption on cytochrome C and calmodulin kinase 2 in the heart tissue of AD rats. Methods: In this experimental study, 40 rats (AD induced by intraperitoneal 8mg/kg trimethyl tin) were divided into five groups of eight animals comprising: (1) AD, (2) Endurance training (ET), (3) saffron (Sa), (4) ET+Sa, and (5) sham (Saffron solvent) groups. The ET and ET+Sa groups ran on a treadmill at 15 to 20m/min (three sessions a week for eight weeks), each lasting 15 to 30 minutes. In addition, the Sa and ET+Sa groups were given 25mg/kg saffron extract per day. The Shapiro-Wilk test, one-way ANOVA, and Tukey’s post hoc tests were used to analyze the data (P≥0.05). Results: ET, Sa, and ET+Sa significantly decreased cytochrome C and calmodulin kinase 2 (P≥0.05). In addition, ET+Sa significantly reduced calmodulin kinase two more than training (P=0.04). Conclusion: Based on the results, Training and saffron consumption appear to have the same impacts on reducing cytochrome C and calmodulin kinase 2. However, simultaneous training and saffron consumption can improve the gene expression levels of calmodulin kinase 2.