Investigation of the effect of apilarnil supplement on muscle damage in rats exposed to acute exercise

Drone brood larva (Apilarnil) is a natural product used in the fields of health, food and cosmetics, and has a place in traditional and complementary medicine, with its high nutritional value and the potential to be designed as a food supplement and medicine. It is known that apilarnil, which is the 3-7 day old larval state of male bees, can be a therapeutic agent with its immune protective and antioxidative capacity increasing effect. In addition, thanks to its rich protein and amino acid content, it is a strong candidate for a special nutritional supplement for athletes, as it reduces muscle damage and oxidative stress that occurs during acute exercise. The aim of the thesis is to evaluate the damage to muscle tissue triggered by acute exercise and the effect of apilarnil on this damage with biochemical and histological analyzes and to investigate its relationship with inflammation and oxidative stress. In the study, male Sprague Dawley rats; they were divided into control (C), apilarnil (A), whey (W), exercise (E), exercise+whey (EW) and exercise+apilarnil (EA) groups (n=6/group). The exercise groups were given acclimation for 2 weeks and then acute running exercise, apilarnil (0.8 g/kg) and whey protein (2 g/kg) were administered half an hour after the exercise. In biochemical analysis of blood serum, groups A and W showed an increase in catalase (CAT) and glutathione (GSH) activities compared to the control. In addition, compared to the acute exercise group, the EA group increased antioxidant capacity in terms of CAT and GSH activity, and the EW group increased antioxidant capacity in terms of CAT activity. No significant difference was found for superoxide dismutase (SOD) and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) activities. Kreatin kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity increased in group E compared to the control. A decrease in these parameters was observed in the EW and EA groups. These data suggest that the mechanism of muscle damage formation and repair is not related to the activation of SIRT1 proteins. There was no difference in interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) parameters in group E compared to the control, and acute exercise did not cause inflammation at a significant level. In histological examinations, no difference was detected between the groups in terms of myonecrosis, edema and immature muscle fiber formation. A more detailed and longer-term study plan needs to be designed to elucidate the signaling pathways and effect mechanisms of apilarnil on muscle strength and performance.