The Effect of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Crocin Consumption on Some Doxorubicin-Induced Apoptotic Indices in the Soleus Muscle Tissue of Rats

Apoptosis is one of the main means to remove undesirable cells that occurs in the eucaryotic and even procaryotic organisms.

This study aimed to examine the effect of 8 weeks of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and crocin consumption on apoptotic factors in the soleus muscle of male rats exposed to doxorubicin.

sixty male rats were selected and divided into five groups: 1) doxorbicin- control, 2) training, 3) crocin, 4) training + crocin, and 5) healthy control. Groups 1 to 4 received 2 mg / kg doxorubicin intraperitoneally; Groups 3 and 4 received daily 10 mg / kg crocin, and groups 2 and 5 received HIIT including high-intensity interval repetitions (80 to 90% of maximum speed) and low-intensity interval repetitions (30 to 40% of maximum speed) at two-minute alternations for eight weeks and for five days each week.

Doxorubicin had a significant effect on increasing Bax and caspase-3 and decreasing Bcl-2 (P ≤ 0.05). However, training had a significant effect on reducing Bax and increasing Bcl-2 (P ≤ 0.05). Crocin consumption had a significant effect on decreasing Bax and caspase-3 and increasing Bcl-2 (P ≤ 0.05). In addition, training and crocin consumption had interactive effects on decreasing Bax and increasing Bcl-2 (P ≤ 0.05).

It appears that the combination of HIIT with crocin extract can be used to increase the expression of the Bcl-2 protein gene as an anti-apoptotic factor and decrease the expression of Bax gene as a stimulating factor in the soleus muscle of male rats exposed to doxorubicin.