The Simultaneous Effect of Four Weeks of Nigella Sativa Oil Supplementation and Aerobic Exercise on Some Stress and Growth Factors of Inactive Young Women

Exercise interventions and the consumption of some supplements can lead to changes in some growth and stress factors in sports activities, based on this, the current research investigates and studies the effect of four weeks of Nigella sativa oil supplementation and exercise Aerobic effect on serum levels of cortisol and IGF-I in inactive young women.

The current semi-experimental research was conducted in the form of pre-test-post-test and in the field method. For this purpose, a number of 40 inactive young women who were eligible to study at Qom University with age range: 22 ± 4 and BMI: 25 ± 8 participated in the upcoming research by filling out a written consent form. The subjects were randomly divided into four groups: control (9 people), exercise + placebo (10 people), supplement (10 people) and exercise + supplement (11 people). Aerobic training groups performed four weeks of aerobic aerobic training with an intensity of 50 to 80% of the maximum heart rate three sessions a week, and the supplement groups received Nigella sativa oil supplement for four weeks, one capsule of 1000 mg per day after lunch. The control group was not subjected to any training or supplements during four weeks. Statistical analysis was performed by paired t-tests and analysis of covariance at a significance level of P<0.05. All statistical studies and graphs were done using SPSS version 25 and Excel (2007) software.

Correlated t results indicated a significant increase in serum IGF-I levels only in the supplement group (P = 0.022) and a significant decrease in serum cortisol levels in the training + supplement group (P = 0.002). The results of inter-group differences in cortisol and IGF-I values did not show significant changes.

The combined consumption of Nigella sativa supplement along with aerobic exercise did not have a positive and significant effect on the amount of cortisol and IGF-I.