Impacts of an 8-week regimen of aged garlic extract and aerobic exercise on the levels of Fetuin-A and inflammatory markers in the liver and visceral fat tissue of obese male rats

Abstract

Obesity-induced chronic low-grade systemic inflammation is linked to the development of numerous diseases. Fetuin-A is known to affect inflammation and insulin resistance in obesity conditions. Free fatty acid (FFA)-induced proinflammatory cytokine expression in adipocytes occurs only in the presence of both Fetuin-A and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and removing either of them prevented FFA-induced insulin resistance. Aged garlic extract (AGE) and exercise training have anti-inflammatory effects; however, the impact of AGE on Fetuin-A is unknown. We examined the effects of AGE with or without aerobic training (AT) on Fetuin-A and inflammatory markers. Forty healthy male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned to normal diet (ND) (n=8) or high-fat diet (HFD) groups (n=32) and fed for 9 weeks. After 9 weeks ND group continued normal diet, and the HFD group was randomly assigned to the HFD, HFD+AGE (600mg/kg, once daily), HFD+AT (5 days/week), and HFD+AGE+AT groups that were continued for 8 weeks (n=8). The significance of differences among groups was assessed using one-way analysis of variance followed by the post-hoc Tukey test. Statistically significant differences were considered for p<0.05. AGE, AT, and AGE+AT significantly decreased body weight, plasma Fetuin-A, HOMA-IR, mRNA and protein levels of Fetuin-A and NFƙB in the liver and mRNA and Protein levels of Fetuin-A, TLR4 and NFƙB in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) compared to HFD. However, only AGE+AT significantly decreased TLR4 protein levels in the liver. Although AT and AGE reduce Fetuin-A and inflammatory markers, a combination of the two may be more effective at lowering inflammation.