The Effect of Intermittent Exercise and Quercetin Supplementation on Cognitive Factors Affecting BDNF And CREB in the Brain Hippocampus of Rats with Colon Cancer

Colon cancer or colorectal cancer is the growth of cancerous masses in the colon. According to research evidence, the use of antioxidants and regular exercise are the best ways to prevent and treat many diseases. This study aimed to investigate the effect of eight weeks of intermittent exercise and Quercetin consumption on the brain-derived neurogenic factor (BDNF) and cyclic-adenosine monophosphate responsive element-binding protein (CREB) in the brain hippocampus of rats with colon cancer which has many influences on cognitive functions.

The subjects of this study included 50 male Wistar rats (weight: 250±30 grams, age: 12 weeks) which were homogenized by weight and were randomly divided into five Healthy Control, Cancer Control, Cancer + Quercetin supplement, Cancer + Intermittent exercise, Cancer + Quercetin supplement + Intermittent exercise groups (10 rats in each group). BDNF and CREB measurements were performed in the rats’ hippocampus according to the ELISA standards and method. SPSS software was used for data analysis.

The results showed that eight weeks of intermittent exercises had a significant effect on the mean score of BDNF (p = 0.047) and CREB (p = 0.032) in rats’ hippocampus with colon cancer. Eight weeks of Quercetin supplementation had no significant effect on the mean BDNF score (p = 0.792) and the mean CREB score (p = 0.363) in rats’ hippocampus with colon cancer

In general, the findings showed that intermittent exercise and Quercetin supplementation improve BDNF and CREB in the hippocampus of rats with colon cancer.