Abstract
Introduction: The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of 10 weeks of
high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and flaxseed oil supplement on heart IGF-1 concentration
in male rats.
Methods: Twenty adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into saline, saline–training,
supplementation, and supplementation–training groups. The training groups performed training
(10 weeks, 5 sessions per week, 90%–95% VO2 max) on a rodent treadmill. The supplementation
groups received flaxseed oil supplement (300 mg/kg). The rats were sacrificed 5 days after the
last training session. The heart tissue was collected, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) was
measured in the heart tissue.
Results: Training increased the concentration of the heart IGF-1 (P=0.01). The concentration of
heart IGF-1 was higher in the flaxseed oil-supplemented group than the saline-treated groups.
(P=0.003). The interaction between training and supplementation also led to an increase in
heart IGF-1 concentration (P=0.001).
Conclusion: The increase of heart IGF-1 in trained supplemented group suggests that training
and flaxseed oil can help to improve cardiac function.