Evaluation of the Anti-Obesity Effect of Zeaxanthin and Exercise in HFD-Induced Obese Rats

Abstract

Obesity is a worldwide epidemic associated with many health problems. One of the new trends in health care is the emphasis on regular exercise and a healthy diet. Zeaxanthin (Zea) is a carotenoid with many beneficial effects on human health. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the combination of Zea and exercise had therapeutic effects on obesity induced by an HFD in rats. Sixty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups of twelve: rats fed a standard diet; rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD); rats fed an HFD with Zea; rats fed an HFD with Exc; and rats fed an HFD with both Zea and Exc. To induce obesity, rats were fed an HFD for twelve weeks. Then, Zea and exercise were introduced with the HFD for five weeks. The results showed that the HFD significantly increased visceral adipose tissue, oxidative stress, and inflammation biomarkers and reduced insulin, high-density lipoprotein, and antioxidant parameters. Treatments with Zea, Exc, and Zea plus Exc reduced body weight gain, triacylglycerol, glucose, total cholesterol, and nitric oxide levels and significantly increased catalase and insulin compared with the HFD group. This study demonstrated that Zea administration and Exc performance appeared to effectively alleviate the metabolic alterations induced by an HFD. Furthermore, Zea and Exc together had a better effect than either intervention alone.

Would Combination Be Better: Swimming Exercise and Intermittent Fasting Improve High-Fat Diet-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Obese Rats via the miR-122-5p/SREBP-1c/CPT1A Pathway

“…Groups S and C underwent weightless swimming training at 18:00 on each training day, 3 training days/8-day cycle, and 7 cycles for 8 weeks. 27 , 28 Of these, the protocol for group C was designed to allow at least one day of rest between fasting days and training days to ensure animal welfare. During the first week of acclimatization training, the swimming time ranged from 15 min to 60 min within this week, and the swimming pool was a 120 cm×80 cm×70 cm rectangular swimming bucket with a water depth of 50 cm and a water temperature of 31±2°C.…”