The Effects of Endurance Training and Saffron Extract on the Expression of Bax, Bcl-2, and Caspase-3 Genes in the Hippocampal Tissue of Alzheimer's Male Rats

Considering the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common form of dementia, and the lack of a definitive treatment for it, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of exercise training with the consumption of saffron extract on the expression of Bax, Bcl-2, and Caspase-3 genes in male rats with Alzheimer's disease.

In this experimental study, 48 adult male rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: control, Alzheimer, Alzheimer and endurance training, Alzheimer and endurance training and extract, Alzheimer and extract, and the control and endurance training group. The Alzheimer's model was created by injecting amyloid beta 42-1 into the CA1 region of the hippocampus. Aerobic exercises, including 3 training sessions per week, were performed on alternate days for 8 weeks. The Real-Time PCR method was used to determine the expression level of the desired genes. Two-way analysis of variance and Tomhane's post hoc test were used to analyze the data.

 The results showed that after 8 weeks of aerobic training, the Bax gene expression in the intervention groups significantly decreased compared to the Alzheimer's group (p<0.05). Also, Caspase-3 in Alzheimer and endurance training, and Alzheimer and endurance training and extract group had a significant decrease compared to Alzheimer's group (p<0.05). Bcl-2 gene expression in Alzheimer and endurance training, and Alzheimer and endurance training and extract showed a significant increase compared to Alzheimer's group (p<0.05).

It seems that aerobic exercise and consumption of saffron extract improve the factors involved in apoptosis in Alzheimer's male mice.