Effect of Regular Aerobic Training and Garlic Extract Consumption on Plasma NO Levels and Tissue VEGF of the Soleus and Gastrocnemius Muscles in Elderly Rats

Elderly age is accompanied with reduced muscle strength and mass. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the most important stimulant of angiogenesis in muscles which, by increasing blood flow to the muscles, causes muscle strength and endurance. Exercise training leads to increased nitric oxide (NO) and release of VEGF by raising the shear stress during proliferation of endothelial cells and the process of angiogenesis. Garlic also modulates blood flow. This study has assessed the effects of regular swimming training combined with the consumption of garlic extract on the levels of NO plasma and VEGF tissue of soleus slow-twitch and gastrocnemius fast-twitch muscles in aged rats.
Male aged rats (40-50 weeks) with an average weight of 250-300 g were randomly divided into 5 groups (n=7 rats per group) - control, saline, aerobic training, garlic, and aerobic training garlic. The swimming training program was scheduled for 50 m daily, 3 times per week for 8 weeks. The groups that received supplements and supplementary training were given a daily dose by gavage of 1 ml/kg body weight of the garlic extract for 8 weeks. We collected tissue and blood samples 48 h after the last training session and after a 10-12 h fasting period. The amount of NO and VEGF were detected by colorimetry and ELISA, respectively.
One-way ANOVA revealed that regular aerobic training increased plasma NO (P=0.001), VEGF of the soleus muscle tissue (P Consumption of garlic extract alone and combined with aerobic training significantly increased plasma NO levels, and VEGF of the soleus and gastrocnemius muscle tissues. However, while the extents of increase in the training combined with garlic extract group was higher than that of the garlic group, there was no significant difference observed between the two groups. The lack of significant difference between these two groups might be due to the intensity and type of the training and would need additional research.