The effect of aerobic training and pomegranate supplementation on lipid peroxidation and some adhesion molecules in obese women

Pomegranate supplement is one of the herbal supplements with healing properties. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of aerobic training and pomegranate supplementation on lipid peroxidation and some adhesion molecules in obese women.

In this randomised double-blind clinical trial, forty women with BMI greater than 30 kg/m2 were randomly assigned into four groups of aerobic training, pomegranate, aerobic training + pomegranate, and placebo. Interventions were performed for 8 weeks. The exercise program included running on a treadmill with 65% of maximum heart rate for 16 minutes in the first week, which peaked at 30 minutes and 80% of the maximum heart rate in the eighth week. The groups received either a 200 mg supplement or a placebo daily for two months. Blood samples were collected from all subjects 24 hours before and 48 hours after the intervention to measure the variables. One-way ANOVA and paired t-test were used to compare the changes of variables in the four groups of study and at two blood sampling times (pre and post-test).

The results showed that MDA, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 significantly decreased in three intervention groups (training+pomegranates, pomegranates, and training) (P<0.05). This decrease in the pomegranate+training group was significantly higher than the other two (pomegranates, and training) groups (P<0.05).

It seems that eight weeks of aerobic training along with pomegranate supplementation may have a better effect on reducing inflammation and oxidative stress in preventing obesity-related diseases in obese women.