effect of 4-weeks endurance training and berberine on glycemic index and inflammation in diabetic rats

Objective: exercise and herbal medicine berberine are known as anti-inflammatory agents. this study aimed to evaluate the effect of 4-weeks of endurance training and berberine chloride (bc) consumption on inflammatory factors and glycemic index in malewistar diabetic rats. materials and methods: in an experimental trial, 36 male wistar rats divided into 6 groups of 6 rats including 1) control, 2) 15 mg/kgbc, 3) 30 mg/kg bc, 4) endurance training, 5) endurance training with 15 mg/kg bc and 6) endurance training with 30 mg/kg of bc. during 4 weeks, rats in groups 2, 3, 5, and 6 received bc by gavage at specified doses, and rats in groups 4- 6 also ran on the treadmill at speeds of 10-15 m/min for 10-30 minutes. for statistical analysis of data-independent sample t-test, two-way anova were used (pvalue=0.05). results: training and bc significantly increased function of pancreatic beta cells and reduced fbs, tnf-α, and il- 6 (p-value= 0.001); training significantly increased vo2max and insulin; interaction of training and bc on an increase of vo2max and reduction of tnf-α were significant (p-value= 0.001) and 30 mg/kgbc reduced tnf-α and fbs much more than 15 mg/kg bc (pvalue=0.001). conclusion: it appears that endurance training and bc can decrease glycemic index and inflammatory markers of diabetes and the effects of bc is dose-dependent, so that the 30 mg/kg bc is more effective rather than the 15 mg/kg bc.