Sport Sciences and Health Research

Sport Sciences and Health Research

Effects of Aerobic Exercise and Chia on Bax/Bcl-2 Ratio in Hearts of Type 2 Diabetic Rats: An Experimental Study

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
fatemeh Hassanpour hosseinabadi 1
khadijeh irandoust 2
Morteza Taheri 3
Ebrahim Shaabani Ezdini 4
1 Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin
2 Associate Professor, Imam Khomeini International University
3 Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences in Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health. University of Tehran, Iran
4 Department of Sports Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran
10.22059/sshr.2025.398024.1201
Abstract
background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with cardiovascular complications.
Aim: Effects of Aerobic Exercise and Chia on Bax/Bcl-2 Ratio in Hearts of Type 2 Diabetic Rats.
Materials and Methods: 50 male diabetic Wistar rats were randomly assigned to five groups: healthy control (HC), diabetic control (DC), diabetic chia supplementation (DCS), diabetic exercise (DE), and diabetic exercise-chia supplementation (DECS). The exercise program lasted for eight weeks. Chia supplementation was available for groups. apoptosis was measured using the RT-PCR methods. Statistical analysis was performed using two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc test.
Results: The Bax/β-actin ratio was significantly lower in the DECS group (0.74 ± 0.26) compared to the DC group (1.84 ± 0.63; p = 0.01). No significant changes were observed in Bcl-2 expression across groups (p ≥ 0.05). The Bax/Bcl-2 ratio was markedly reduced in both the DE (1.56 ± 0.62) and DECS (0.96 ± 0.42) groups compared to the DC group (2.57 ± 0.71; p = 0.02 and p = 0.00, respectively), with the greatest reduction observed in the combined intervention group.
Conclusion: aerobic exercise and chia supplementation reduced cardiac Bax expression and the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in type 2 diabetic rats, however, Cardioprotection requires functional cardiac outcomes.
Keywords
ontinuous aerobic exercise
chia consumption
Bax
Bcl-2
Diabetes
Sport Sciences and Health Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 07 June 2026