The Effect of 8 Weeks of Resistance Training and Consumption of Flaxseed Oil on Some Antioxidant Factors (Catalase and Superoxide Dismutase) in Women with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background and purpose: An increase in the production of free radicals is observed after intense exercise and poor diet. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of 8 weeks of resistance training and consumption of flaxseed oil on some antioxidant biomarkers, catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), in women with type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods: The study was conducted as a clinical trial with 60 women aged 50 to 65 years with type 2 diabetes and comprised four groups: supplement (n=15), exercise (n=15), supplement + exercise (n=15), and control (n=15). The intervention group performed exercise at 40% of 1-RMthree times a week for 8 weeks. The supplement users also took two capsules of 200 mg flaxseed oil daily. To measure the CAT and SOD indicators, 5 cc were taken from the brachial vein in two phases, before and after the test. To analyze the data, a dependent t-test and a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed in SPSS version 25 software at a significance level of 0.05. Results: According to the results, a significant increase in CAT variables was observed after 8 weeks of intervention in the resistance training group (P= 0.04), the flaxseed oil group (P= 0.00), and the resistance training and flaxseed oil group (P= 0.02). However, no significant difference was found in the control group (P= 0.32). In addition, a significant increase in the SOD variable was observed in the resistance training group (P= 0.03), the flaxseed oil group (P= 0.00), and the resistance training + flaxseed oil group (P= 0.00); while no significant difference was observed in the control group (P= 0.67). Furthermore, the highest increase in SOD and CAT variables was observed in the flaxseed oil consumption group. Conclusion: It appears that the consumption of flaxseed oil, moderate-intensity resistance exercise, and the simultaneous use of both have positive effects on increasing the capacity of the antioxidant agents SOD and CAT. (Clinical Trials Registry Number: IRCT20221120056548N3)