Journal of Exercise & Organ Cross Talk

Abstract This study investigated the combined efficacy of interval training and thyme honey in attenuating the expression of inflammatory genes (TNF-α and TGF-β) in renal tissue and improving insulin resistance in diabetic rats. In this experimental study, 32 young male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups: diabetes mellitus control (DM), diabetes and interval training (DM+HIIT), diabetes and thyme honey (DM+TH), and diabetes and interval training-thyme honey (DM+HIIT+TH). Animals in the training group underwent 40 sessions of training over two months with a gradual increase in the number of intense intervals from 2 to 8 intervals and an intensity of 80 to 95% of maximum running speed. At the same time, the samples in the TH groups received thyme honey at a rate of g/kg 3 and 5 days per week. Insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) was performed using the formula. TNF- α  and TGF-β gene expression in kidney tissue was evaluated using Real-Time PCR. Based on the results of the present study, DM+HIIT significantly reduced HOMA-IR compared to the diabetes group (p<0.05). However, the DM+HIIT+TH group did not yield a greater improvement in HOMA-IR than the DM+HIIT group alone. Also, TNF-α and TGF-β genes in the DM+HIIT, DM+TH and DM+HIIT+TH groups showed a significant decrease compared to the diabetes group (p<0.05). In conclusion, our findings provide strong evidence that both interval training and thyme honey supplementation independently ameliorate diabetic nephropathy by downregulating key pro-fibrotic and inflammatory mediators. While the combination therapy was highly effective at suppressing inflammatory genes, it did not provide a synergistic benefit for insulin sensitivity compared to exercise alone. These results suggest that interval exercise is the primary driver of improved insulin sensitivity in this model.