The Combined Effects of Regular Swimming Exercise and Garlic Extract on the some of the Mediator Growth Factors on the Cardiac Angiogenesis and Fibrosis in aged Rats

Introduction: Aging is an important risk factor for progressive impairment of cardiac structure and function that associated with differnet change in cardiac angiogenesis and fibrosis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate combined effects of regular swimming exercise and garlic extract on some of mediator growth factors on the cardiac angiogenesis and fibrosis in old rats. Materials and Methods: 28 sedentary male Wistar rats (aged 20-30 months) were randomly divided into 5 groups (7 rats per group): control, salin, garlic, aerobic exercise, garlic+ exercise. The animals exercised by swimming training at 5 min to 60 min per day, five days a week over 8 weeks. The garlic extract (2.5 g/kg body wight) was administered in the garlic and garlic+ exercise groups. The cardiac vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor-&beta1 (TGF-&beta1 levels were evaluated by ELIZA method. A one-way analysis of variance was used to data analysis (P<0.05). Results: The results showed that 8 weeks swimming training, garlic supplementation and the combined intervention were associated with a significant increas in the levels of cardiac VEGF and decreased TGF-&beta1 levels in aged rats (P<0.05). However there was no difference between the effect of these interventions on cardiac VEGF and TGF-&beta1 levels in aged rats (P>0.05). Conclusion: It seems that one of the non-pharmacological interventions regular swimming exercise, garlic extract and and/or combined method, may attenuate aged-induced change in cardiac angiogenesis and fibrosis by up-regulation cardiac VEGF decreasing and TGF- &beta1 levels in aged rats.