The Effect of Pistacia Atlantica Extract and Aerobic Training on the Levels of Triiodothyronine, Thyroxine and Lipid Profile in Streptozotocin-Diabetic Rats

Background: diabetes is considered as one of the health problems in all societies. exercise training and herbal medicines are some approaches to improve diabetes. the present study investigated the effect of a six weeks exercise training program and/or pistacia atlantica (mastic) extract on thyroid hormones and lipid profile as well as antidiabetic effects in diabetic rats.methods: forty male wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups: healthy control (ctrl), diabetic control (d), diabetic + exercise (de), diabetic + mastic extract (dm) and diabetic + exercise + mastic extract (dem). the six-week period exercise program included aerobic training on a treadmill (five sessions per week, 40 minutes per each session, with a speed of 20 m/min and 5% incline). pistacia atlantica extract was fed 5 days per week (25 mg/kg). forty eight hours after the last training session, the level of t3, t4, triglyceride, cholesterol and hdl were assessed. results:triglyceride levels in dem group was significantly lower than diabetic group (p<0.05). the mean level of cholesterol and hdl (high density lipoprotein) was not significantly different among groups. plasma concentration of t 3 and t 4 in diabetic control was significantly lower than normal control. applying mastic extract alone or together with exercise markedly enhanced t4 levels in diabetic rats.conclusion: pistacia atlantica extract and exercise training might be good in the improvement of hypothyroidism and hyperlipidemia resulting from diabetes.