Background and objectives: Epidemiological studies have shown that high dose of ethanol can lead to apoptosis. On the other hand, the consumption of medicinal plants such as turmeric in the diet and performing physical activities are considered as factors to control apoptosis. Therefore, this article aims to mainly evaluate the anti-apoptotic effects of swimming and curcumin interactively during withdrawal of binge ethanol exposure in heart tissues.
Material and Methods: In this study, 40 rats were received ethanol (25% W/V) as gavage for four days every eight hours. Then, 7 days after ethanol withdrawal, they were classified in 5 groups, including: (1) control, (2) curcumin, (3) swimming, (4) swimming with curcumin, and (5) sham. Groups 3 and 4 performed swimming five sessions a week for two weeks, and groups 2 and 4 received 50 mg/kg of curcumin five times a week for two weeks. The amount of BAX, BCL2, and P53 protein and BCL2/BAX ratio were measured using western blot technique. The data were tested using the independent t-test at a significant level (p≥0.05) and two-way ANOVA.
Results: Swimming had a significant effect on reduction of p53 (F=60.051, P<0.0001, η2=0.741), Bax (F=62.594, P<0.0001, η2=0.887) and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio (F=290.591, P<0.0001, η2=0.973), and increase of Bcl-2 (F=150.940, P<0.0001, η2=0.950); Curcumin had a significant effect on decrease of p53 (F=5.513, P=0.029, η2=0.208), Bax (F=66.146, P<0.0001, η2=0.892) and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio (F=260.655, P<0.0001, η2=0.970), and increase of Bcl-2 (F=73.274, P<0.0001, η2=0.902). The results from two-way ANOVA showed the interactive effect of exercise and curcumin on the decrease of BAX (F=35.847, P<0.0001, η2=0.818) and BAX/BCL-2 ratio (F=175.887, P<0.0001, η2=0.956), and the increase of BCL-2 (F=21.205, P=0.002, η2=0.726) were significant; but it had no significant effect on p53 (F=0.000, P=0.999, η2=0.000).
Conclusion: Swimming and curcumin consumption simultaneously can significantly moderate apoptosis caused by ethanol in the heart tissue.
