Effect of High-Intensity Interval Training and Portulaca Oleracea extract on Sirtuin1 Level and Insulin Resistance in Rats with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Sirtuin1 (Sirt1) levels is associated with insulin resistance and insulin resistance can provide conditions for the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Thus the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and PortulacaOleracea extract on Sir1 level and insulin resistance in rats with NAFLD.

Twenty male Wistar rats aged six weeks were selected and after induction of non-alcoholic fatty liver,were randomly divided into four groups: control, HIIT, PortulacaOleracea extract, and HIIT+PortulacaOleracea extract. To induce NAFLD, the rats were fed a high-fat diet for 12 weeks. PortulacaOleracea supplement at 400 mg/kg was given to the experimental groups. HIIT was performed for 8 weeks, 5 sessions per week with 7 repetitions of 1 minute at 90% maximum speed accompanied by active rest intervals including 2 minutes of running at 20% maximum speed. Hepatic Sir1 level and insulin resistance were measured after 8 weeks of HIIT and consumption of purslane extract. To analyze the data, one-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc test were used at the significance level of p<0.05.

Insulin resistance was significantly higher in control group than HIIT (P=0.012), PortulacaOleracea extract (P=0.037), and HIIT+PortulacaOleracea extract (P=0.014) groups.Sirt1 levels in control group was significantly lower than HIIT (p=0.035), PortulacaOleracea extract (P=0.01), and HIIT+PortulacaOleracea extract (P=0.001) groups. The level of liver Sirt1 in the PortulacaOleracea extract group was not different from the HIIT and HIIT+ PortulacaOleracea extract groups (p values 0.914 and 0.106, respectively), but the liver Sirt1 level in the HIIT group was significantly lower than the HIIT+extract group (p=0.031).

It seems that HIIT and PortulacaOleracea extract could improve insulin resistance in NAFLD by increasing Sirt1 levels and can play an important role in controlling the progress of this disease.