The effect of taking green tea extract for 12 weeks on telomerase enzyme content in heart tissue of old rats in response to acute exhaustive exercise

Background & Aims: The prevalence, incidence, and complications of heart disease increase with age. Green tea is an antioxidant which can prevent cellular senescence and cardiovascular diseases. Telomerase enzyme decreases with aging. Acute exhaustive exercise results in disturbances in the oxidative system and production of active oxygen species in the heart tissue. Thus, the present study aims to investigate the effect of taking green tea extract for 12 weeks on telomerase enzyme content in heart tissue of old rats in response to acute exhaustive exercise. Materials & Methods: In this study, 20 male rats were randomly categorized into two groups of supplement and non-supplement each consisting of 10 rats. The supplement group received green tea extract for 12 weeks. At the end of 12 weeks, each of these groups was further divided into two groups of rest and acute exhaustive exercise. The non-supplement with rest group was called control group. The non-supplement with exercise group was called exercise group. Further, the supplement group with rest was called supplement group and finally the last group was entitled supplement with exercise. After 12 weeks of taking green tea extract, one session of acute exhaustive exercise was held on the treadmill. Sandwich ELISA method was used to measure telomerase content. The data were analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey tests. Results: The results showed that telomerase enzyme content in the supplement with exercise group was significantly more than the exercise group (P=0.021). Also, it was significantly more in the supplement group than the control group (P=0.008). The difference between the exercise and control groups (P=0.008) as well as the difference between the supplement with exercise and supplement groups were not statistically significant. Conclusion: The study showed that using green tea extract for 12 weeks can increase telomerase enzyme content in rest or after acute exhaustive exercise and accordingly prevent cellular senescence.