Effect of Ferula hermonis root extract on rat skeletal muscle adaptation to exercise

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13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Ferula hermonis Boiss. is an aphrodisiac plant that grows in the Mediterranean region. It has been reported that treatment with acetonic extract from the root of this plant acutely increases serum testosterone in the rat. This study investigated the effects of F. hermonis extract alone or combined with exercise on rat skeletal muscle fibers. Adult male rats were divided into four groups: control-sedentary (CS) that had no treatment or exercise; ferula-sedentary (FS) that was orally treated with ferula extract at a dose of 60 mg/kg/rat every other day over a period of 20 d; control-exercised (CE) that was trained by swimming for 40 min every other day; and ferula-exercised (FE) that received ferula and performed exercise. At the end of experiments, the fiber diameter and number of muscle nuclei of tibialis anterior were measured by using immunofluorescent techniques and software analyses. The FE group showed significant increases in muscle weight, fiber size and nuclear number compared with the other groups. However, no significant changes in the aforementioned parameters were found among the CS, FS and CE groups. Ferula treatment and exercise were additive to each other. In conclusion, short-term exercise combined with administration of F. hermonis extract was more effective in enhancing the growth of skeletal muscle fibers than exercise alone.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1373-1378
Number of pages6
JournalExperimental Biology and Medicine
Volume236
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Ferula
  • Hypertrophy
  • Phytoestrogen
  • Testosterone

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology

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