Comparison of the effect of a therapeutic exercise program and oral administration of saffron on the levels of IL-6, TNF-a and glycemic control in type 2 diabetic women

The purpose of this study was comparison of the effect of a therapeutic exercise program and oral administration of saffron on the levels of IL-6, TNF-a and glycemic control in type 2 diabetic women
48 type 2 diabetic obese women were randomly divided into four equal groups (saffron training, training placebo, saffron, placebo). The saffron group training and training placebo groups performed aerobic training with intensity of 60-75% of maximal heart rate for 8 weeks (three sessions per week). Daily dose of 400 mg of Saffron sprout powder (once a day) was used for two months. The placebo contained 400 mg of wheat flour. The following IL-6, TNF-a, Blood glucose and HbA1c variables; lipid profiles and HOMA-IR were tested. The Shapiro-Wilk test, variance analysis with repeated measures, Bonferron's post hoc test, and one way analysis of variance with LSD post-test.
In the post-test phase, the pre-test the variables IL-6 and TNF-α, blood glucose and HbA1c in intervention groups decreased significantly, and also in the post-test between group, saffron training with training placebo, saffron training with saffron, saffron training with placebo and saffron with placebo there was a significant difference (p It can be possible aerobic exercise and saffron consumption have a protective effect against the increased levels of blood glucose and HbA1c. It is possible that the reduction of blood glucose, IL-6 and TNF-a in saffron recipients is due to the presence of saffron metabolites, especially flavonoids (crostein and crocin) and increased antioxidant defense system through saffron.