The Effect of Eight Weeks of Aerobic Exercise Combined with Vitamin E Supplementation on Glycemic Indices in the Brain Tissue of Reserpine-Induced Parkinsonian Rats

Rashidi, Akram; Banaei Borojeni, Jamshid; Keshavarz, Saeed; Eftekhari, Elham

doi:10.22038/mjms.2025.90581.5093

The Effect of Eight Weeks of Aerobic Exercise Combined with Vitamin E Supplementation on Glycemic Indices in the Brain Tissue of Reserpine-Induced Parkinsonian Rats

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Akram Rashidi ¹

Jamshid Banaei Borojeni ²

Saeed Keshavarz ²

Elham Eftekhari ²

¹ PhD Student,, Department of Sports Sciences, Na.C., Islamic Azad University, NajafAbad, Iran

² Department of Sports Sciences, Na.C., Islamic Azad University, NajafAbad, Iran

10.22038/mjms.2025.90581.5093

Abstract

Introduction: The present study aimed to investigate the effects of eight weeks of aerobic exercise combined with vitamin E supplementation on glycemic indices in the brain tissue of reserpine-induced Parkinsonian rats.
Methods: In this experimental study, forty male Sprague–Dawley rats (14–16 months old, weighing 250–270 g) were Parkinsonized with reserpine (2 mg/kg) and randomly assigned to five groups: (1) PD, (2) aerobic training (AT), (3) vitamin E (VE), (4) AT+VE, and (5) healthy control (HC). Aerobic training was performed for eight weeks, five sessions per week, with a duration of 15–48 minutes at a speed of 10–24 m/min. VE was administered orally at a dose of 30 mg/kg/day. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test (P ≤ 0.05).
Findings: In the AT, VE, and AT+VE groups, insulin levels and insulin resistance were significantly lower, while GLUT1 and PFK levels were significantly higher compared to the PD group. Glucose levels in the AT group were significantly lower than in the PD group. In the AT+VE group, insulin levels were significantly lower, and GLUT1 and PFK levels were significantly higher than in both the VE (P = 0.001) and AT (P = 0.001) groups. Moreover, GLUT1 gene expression in the AT group was significantly higher than in the VE group (P = 0.001).
Conclusion: Aerobic exercise and vitamin E supplementation improve glucose metabolism in neurodegenerative disorders, and their combination exerts synergistic effects.

Keywords

Exercise

Vitamin E

Glycemic indices

Brain

Parkinson’s disease

Subjects