Effects of Aerobic Training with Ginger Consumption on Plasma Levels of Adipokine Glipican-4 and Hepatokine Fetuin- A in Rats with Non-alcoholic Fatty Livers

Fatty liver is one of the most common diseases as a result of obesity and overweight. Recently, much attentions have been paid to the role of herbs in the treatment of these disease. The purpose of the present study was to investigate effects of aerobic exercise with ginger consumption on adipokine glypican-4 and hepatokine fetuin-A in mice with non-alcoholic fatty livers.

This was an experimental study. Forty rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease due to high-fat diets were randomly divided into four major groups of control, ginger, aerobic exercise and aerobic exercise and ginger. Exercises were carried out for eight weeks, five days a week. Physical activity was carried out as aerobic exercise using treadmill at a speed of 20–25 m per min, equivalent to 60–65% of the maximum oxygen consumption. Exercise was carried out for 60 min a day and the treadmill speed increased every week. Ginger was consumed at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight daily (once a day at 8 am).

Results showed that exercise caused significant increases in glycipane-4 (p = 0.001), but the effects of ginger (p = 0.64) and ginger and exercise were = not significant (p = 0.95). Furthermore, exercise resulted in significant decreases in fetuin-A (p = 0.001); however, effects of ginger (p = 0.12) and exercise and ginger were not significant (p = 0.69).

Aerobic exercise is likely to improve non-alcoholic fatty liver disease via improvements in insulin signaling, increasing glycophane-4 and decreasing fetuin-A.