| Background Hyperglycemia is the main risk factor for
microvascular complications in type 2 diabetes. Crocin and
voluntary exercise have anti-hyperglycemic effects in diabetes.
In this research, we evaluated the effects of crocin
and voluntary exercise alone or combined on glycemia control
and heart level of VEGF-A.
Materials and methods Animals were divided into eight
groups as: control (con), diabetes (Dia), crocin (Cro),
voluntary exercise (Exe), crocin and voluntary exercise
(Cro-Exe), diabetic–crocin (Dia-Cro), diabetic–voluntary
exercise (Dia-Exe), diabetic–crocin–voluntary exercise
(Dia-Cro-Exe). Type 2 diabetes was induced by a high-fat
diet (4 weeks) and injection of streptozotocin (STZ) (i.p,
35 mg/kg). Animals received oral administration of crocin
(50 mg/kg) or performed voluntary exercise alone or
together for 8 weeks. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)
was performed on overnight fasted control, diabetic and
treated rats after 8 weeks of treatment. Then, serum insulin
and heart VEGF-A protein levels were measured.
Results Crocin combined with voluntary exercise significantly
decreased blood glucose levels (p < 0.001) and insulin
resistance (HOMA-IR) (p < 0.001) compared to diabetic
group. VEGF-A level was significantly (p < 0.01) lower in
Dia group compared to control group. The combination
of crocin and voluntary exercise significantly enhanced
VEGF-A protein levels in Dia-Cro-Exe and Cro-Exe group
compared to diabetic and control groups, respectively;
p < 0.001 and p < 0.05.
Discussion Crocin combined with voluntary exercise
improved insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and reduced glucose
levels in diabetic rats. Since both crocin and voluntary
exercise can increase VEGF-A protein expression in heart
tissue, they probably are able to increase angiogenesis in
diabetic animals. |