This study evaluates the effect of treadmill exercise and Ferula gummosa (FG) on heat shock protein (HSP72), biomarkers related to vascular function, and oxidant/antioxidant system in the heart tissue of spontaneously hypertensive rats treated with N(ω)-nitro-l–arginine-methyl ester (l–NAME). Fifty adult male Wistar rats are randomly classified into five groups: treadmill exercise, FG, combination of treadmill exercise + FG, l–NAME, and saline. Treadmill exercise was performed between 25 and 64 minutes at the speed of 15–22 m per minute for 8 weeks and five sessions a week. The FG will be fed through gavage with 90 mg/kg dosage. Hypertension was induced by l–NAME (10 mg/kg) for 8 weeks and six sessions a week. Administration of l–NAME for 8 weeks caused significant increase in HSP72, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), and protein carbonyl (PC), and significant decrease in glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and nitric oxide (NO) level, when compared with the saline group. In contrast, both treadmill exercise and/or FG protocols, in particular, the combined protocol, led to the improvement in HSP72 and balance in oxidant/antioxidant process and inhibited vascular dysfunction, when compared with the l–NAME group. Moreover, no significant differences were detected in the HSP72 level between rats in the treadmill exercise and FG groups. These results provide a rationale for an inhibitory role and a cardioprotective effect of lifestyle related to the health in the attenuation of hypertension-induced cardiotoxicity.
