Abstract
Background: IGF-1 is an anabolic hormone that is effective in cell metabolism and growth. Flaxseeds contain unsaturated fatty acids and are useful. Previous studies have shown that physical activity and natural substances affect hormonal levels. Thus the present study aimed to investigate the effect of 10 weeks of high intensity interval training (HIIT) with and without flaxseed oil on plasma IGF-1 level in male rats. Methods: 20 adult male Wistar rats were present in study. Animals randomly divided into four groups (five in each group) including control- saline (CS), training- saline (TS), control- flaxseed oil (CO), and training- flaxseed oil (TO) groups. The training groups performed HIIT (10 weeks, five sessions per week, 90–95% VO2 max) on a rodent treadmill. The supplementation groups also received flaxseed oil supplement (300 mg/kg). The rats were sacrificed five days after the last training session. The plasma was collected, and plasma IGF-1 lever evaluated by ELISA method.
Results: Training increased the level of the plasma IGF-1 than non-training groups (P=0.009). The level of plasma IGF-1 was higher in the flaxseed oil-supplemented groups than the saline-treated groups. (P=0.002). The interaction between training and supplementation also led to an increase in plasma IGF-1 level than training or supplement alone (P=0.001).
Conclusion: HIIT and flaxseed oil consumption can increase the IGF-1 in body.