effect of eight weeks of resistance training and consumption of tribulus terrestris on androgenic receptor-1, fas ligand gene expression, and lipid profiles in rats exposed to stanozolol

Background: protective effect of medicinal plants on the heart has been reported, but the effect of resistance training (rt) and tribulus terrestris (tt) on the heart exposed to anabolic-androgenic steroids (aas) abuse is still unknown. objectives: the present study aimed to investigate the effect of rt and tt on androgen receptor-1 (ar-1), fas ligand (fasl) gene expression and lipid profiles in rats exposed to stanozolol (s). methods: thirty-five male rats were selected and divided into 7 groups as follows: (1) sham (normal saline/sh), (2) stanozolol (s), (3) s+100 mg/kg tt (s+tt100), (4) s+ 50 mg/kg tt (s+tt50), (5) s+rt+tt, (6) s+rt+tt100, and (7) s+rt+tt50. over a course of eight-week period, groups 3, 4, 6, and 7 received 50 and 100 mg/kg/d doses of tt peritoneally and groups 5-7 performed three sessions of increasing rt per week. results: rt decreased plasma cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (ldl-c) levels, as well as ar-1 and fasl gene expression in s-exposed rats (p < 0.05). tt50, tt100, srtt100, and srtt50 reduced ar-1 and fasl gene expressions (p < 0.05). tt50 reduced triglyceride (tg), cholesterol and increased high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (hdl-c) (p≤0.01), and tt100 decreased ldl-c levels (p < 0.05). additionally, srtt100 reduced tg, cholesterol, and ldl-c levels and increased hdl-c level (p < 0.05), and srtt50 decreased cholesterol level and increased hdl-c level in s-exposed rats (p < 0.05). conclusion: rt and consumption of tt appear to have protective effects on the improvement of apoptosisdependent androgen receptor-1 and lipid profile in s-exposed rats