Journal of Exercise & Organ Cross Talk

Abstract Resistance exercises and nutritional strategy are the best ways to prevent with age- related muscle atrophy (sarcopenia) by improving the physiological function of skeletal muscle. This study investigated the effect of 8 weeks of Water resistance training with consumption of dark chocolate on the changes and correlation of IGF-1 and FOXO3 in elderly women. In this study, 40 sedentary elderly women with an age range of 60-73 years were randomly divided into four groups: 1. water resistance training, 2. water resistance training + dark chocolate, 3. dark chocolate, 4. control. The subjects of the training groups did water resistance training for eight weeks. During these 8 weeks, the dark chocolate groups consumed 30 grams of 83% dark chocolate every day, and the control group received neither exercise nor Dark chocolate. Blood sampling was done 48 hours before the study and after the end of the last training session. Expressions of IGF-1 and FOXO3 were measured by real time-PCR method. After 8 weeks of water resistance training and consumption of dark chocolate, the expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) gene increased significantly compared to the pretest (p<0.05). However, FOXO3 did not change significantly (p>0.05). These findings underscore the potential of targeted exercise and dietary interventions in enhancing muscle health among the elderly, although further research is needed to understand the implications of unchanged FOXO3 in this context.

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the combined effect of prolonged whey protein supplementation and resistance training on the expression of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) gene, the weight of the Gastrocnemius muscle and One-repetition maximum in young male Wistar rats. In this study, twenty-one young male Wistar rats, aged eight weeks and weighing between 200 to 250 grams, were randomly assigned to four groups: training (T), supplementary training (ST), Sham (Sh), and control (C). The resistance training program was conducted for six weeks, five days a week, with the training intensity increasing from 50 to 100% of the rats' body weight. The rats receiving the whey supplement via the gavage method based on their body weight, using whey production by ON company. Forty-eight hours after the final training session, the quadriceps muscles of the rats were extracted and the expression level of the IGF-1 gene was evaluated using the Real-Time PCR method. Statistical analysis was conducted using one-way variance test and Scheffe's test. The results showed that the training -supplement group exhibited a significant increase in IGF-1 expression compared to the Sham group (P˂0.05). Moreover, the weight of the Gastrocnemius muscle of rats and also One-repetition maximum in the training-supplement group significantly increased compared to the training, sham, and control groups (P˂0.05). The findings suggest that the concomitant use of resistance training and whey protein supplementation has a synergistic effect on IGF-1 gene expression in skeletal muscle, which may contribute to enhanced muscle hypertrophy and One-repetition maximum.