Effect of Aerobic Exercise with Thymes Supplement on Plasma Lipoproteins and Liver Enzymes of Men with Fatty Liver: A Semi-experimental Study

Fatty liver is one of the most common liver diseases of the century, which is caused by the disruption of the lipid balance of the blood. In this regard, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of aerobic exercise with thymes supplementation on lipid plasma proteins and liver enzymes of men with fatty liver. This study was performed in the winter of 2020 in Dehdasht, Iran.

This semi-experimental study was performed on 40 men with fatty liver who were divided into four groups, namely 1) aerobic exercise+thymes supplement, 2) aerobic exercise+placebo, 3) thymes supplement, and 4) control groups. The thymes supplement group and aerobic exercise group+thymes supplement took one 2-gram capsule with their meals (lunch and dinner) twice a day. Similarly, the placebo group consumed 1 gr of a starch capsule with the meals (lunch and dinner) twice a day. They performed the aerial training protocol of the shuttle run test in six sessions. The data analysis was performed in SPSS software (version 23) using the paired t-test to compare the pre- and post-test results while the ANCOVA test was used to compare the intergroup results. Moreover, a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant for all the statistical analyses.

According to the results, the plasma concentrations of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total cholesterol, and low-density triglyceride decreased by two weeks of aerobic exercise+thymes supplementation, compared to the pre-test stage (P≤0/05). The results also indicated that high-density lipoprotein underwent a significant increase in comparison to the pre-test stage (P≤0.05).

Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that aerobic training accompanied with thymes supplementation affects liver enzymes and plasma lipids.