the effect of aerobic training combined with martighal consumption on vascular endothelial growth factor and homocysteine in sedentary women with metabolic syndrome

Introduction: recently, the role of using medicinal plants during exercise training has been expanded with the aim of improving antioxidant and cardiovascular function in healthy and sick obese populations.the aim ofthis study was to investigate the effect of aerobic training combined with martighal extract on the serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (vegf) and homocysteine in females with metabolic syndrome. methods: in this clinical trial, 48 obese females (30 ≤ bmi ≤ 36, mean weight: 84.45 ± 5.41 kg) diagnosed with metabolic syndrome aged 30-45 years were randomly allocated into four distinct groups: control (no intervention); martighal extract (280 mg /daily); aerobic training (alternate days) and combined (aerobic training + martighal) groups. baseline concentrations of fasting vegf and homocysteine, along with anthropometric measurements, were recorded prior to and 48 hours after the final training session for each group. to analyze the data, analysis of covariance (ancova) was employed for inter-group comparisons, while the paired-sample t-test was utilized to assess within group changes (p ≤ 0.05). results: compared to the control group, serum vegf significantly increased in the aerobic, martighal and combined groups (p=0.001).there was no significant difference in homocysteine levels in response to the interventions (p=0.919). conclusion: despite the mentioned evidence, the effectiveness of martighal consumption during aerobic exercise cannot be emphasized only by improving vegf, and it is suggested to measure other markers of vascular endothelial function in order to obtain the mechanisms responsible for martighal supplementation during exercise in these patients.