Investigating the effect of saffron consumption on cardiorespiratory endurance of inactive female students of Mohaghegh Ardabili University

Dissertation for receiving a master's degree

in the field of physical education with a specialization in sports physiology

Abstract:

Athletes have been continuously searching for solutions to improve their sports performance. One of the methods that can develop sports performance and prepare athletes physically and mentally for sports activities is the use of herbal supplements. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of saffron supplementation on cardio-respiratory endurance factors in non-athlete women. After completing the health and physical activity questionnaire and performing the one-mile run test, 14 inactive female students of Mohaghegh University (with an average age of 20.7±1.38 years and a body mass index of 21.1±1.8) were selected from among the eligible people, and they performed the Bruce test in 3 stages on a treadmill connected to a breath gas analysis device, one week apart. In this research, the subjects performed the tests in the first stage one week after taking placebo and in the second stage one week after taking 300 mg of saffron flower stigma daily and the desired variables were measured. Analysis of covariance and Bonferroni correction were used to analyze the data. The results showed that the consumption of 300 mg of saffron for one week caused a significant increase in VO2, VO2max, oxygen pulse, latency and a significant decrease in blood pressure and heart rate at rest, as well as a significant increase in fat oxidation and a significant decrease in energy consumption from carbohydrates during the Bruce test following saffron consumption, and HRDP and heart rate one minute after the activity after saffron consumption did not change significantly (p<0.05). As a result, it seems that the consumption of saffron probably has an ergogenic effect on the cardio-respiratory performance of inactive female students and will probably have a significant ergogenic effect in endurance sports. style="direction: rtl;">Introduction

Today, there is a fierce competition between athletes in different countries to win championship titles in the Olympic, World and Continental Games, and the effort to improve the performance of athletes has made sports scientists to be more active in this field and has increased research in sports sciences. In recent years, the examination of the benefits and positive and negative effects of nutritional supplements on sports performance has been the focus of the experts in the field of sports science. Also, due to the strictness of the International Anti-Doping Agency regarding the use of prohibited substances and compounds, the attention of researchers and athletes has been drawn to food supplements and herbal compounds so that they can improve sports performance and get better results in sports competitions. Therefore, people have been using plants for centuries to improve their health. Throughout history, plants have been used as food or medicine for treatment or prevention (Swerdiow, 2000). Due to the presence of effective substances and their continuous association with other substances, medicinal plants have a state of biological balance, so their consumption does not accumulate as much in the body and does not cause side effects.

Medicinal plants have received special attention today and many studies have been conducted on them in order to produce different drugs and new food supplements, the use of some of them in the form of supplements improves sports performance and some have a positive effect. have not had Ebrahim et al. (2000) showed that garlic supplementation increases the maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) due to the prevention of platelet aggregation and the activation of fibrinolysis factors and the increase of blood fluidity. In a study conducted on ginseng, they concluded that daily consumption of 200 mg of ginseng supplement for 3 weeks in healthy young people with moderate exercise capacity and a normal diet did not have a significant and significant effect on increasing VO2max (Jason et al., 1996).

1-1-Definition of the problem

Cardio-respiratory endurance, while being one of the important factors of health, is one of the main components of physical fitness that has a significant contribution to increasing the capabilities of athletes, especially in endurance sports. Cardiorespiratory fitness is the ability of the heart to send a sufficient volume of oxygen-rich blood to the muscles and consume as much of it as possible during physical activity. To improve cardio-respiratory fitness along with regular exercises and proper nutrition, the use of some approved supplements can be useful. Among the available methods to increase cardiovascular endurance are the use of carbohydrate supplements, vitamins, sodium bicarbonate loading, anabolic steroids, music, etc. is In addition to the mentioned cases, the use of herbal supplements to improve cardio-respiratory endurance has recently received much attention from researchers due to its positive effect and fewer side effects. These types of plants can be saffron, guarana, garlic, ginseng, gingobilba, sage, cumin, etc. pointed out.

Saffron with its scientific name (Crocus sativus) and common name (saffron) is a herbaceous, perennial, stemless plant that has bulbous roots and is known as the flower of health, the king of spices and red gold. Its dry stigma is used as a food flavoring and seasoning in most countries of the world.

Saffron, in addition to being a widely used food seasoning, also has many pharmacological effects and is considered a strong medicine because with small daily amounts of 100 mg of saffron or 30 mg of saffron hydroalcoholic extract powder orally, it can cause significant pharmacological effects in humans (Kian Bakht, 2008).

Saffron extract contains many compounds including ?-crostin[1], crocins including crocin[2], dicrostin[3], tricrostin[4], picrocrostin[5] and safranal[6]. Carotenoids such as beta-carotene, lycopene, xanthan, and vitamins, especially riboflavin and thiamin, are also found in saffron. Crocin, crostin, and safranal are the main active ingredients of saffron, which are attributed pharmacological activities and therapeutic effects to them (Kian Bakht, 2017).

Due to its long history, saffron has a special value in traditional medicine, and for this reason, it has become the basis of new scientific research and its properties have been investigated in many researches. New researches show that saffron and its effective ingredients have heart protective effects (Razavi et al., 2012), antitumor (Premkumar et al., 2003), antioxidant (Pham & Cormier, 2000), memory and learning enhancer (Abe & Satio, 2000), pain reliever and anti-inflammatory (Arbabian et al., 2009), anticonvulsant (Hosseinzadeh and Talebzadeh, 2006), antidepressant. (Akhundzadeh et al., 2006), lowering blood pressure (Aiman ??Shahidi et al., 2009), reducing blood sugar and fat (Sheng et al., 2006) and increasing oxygen supply to tissues (Grisolia, 1974), dilating the bronchi (Baskabadi and Aslani, 2000) and  is It is also mentioned in traditional medicine that saffron is able to ensure the health of the heart and blood vessels (Razavi et al., 2013).

Imam Qureshi et al. in 2013, in a study titled "Effect of sub-chronic administration of aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts of saffron" on the swimming test in mice, showed that the administration of aqueous extract and also alcoholic extract of saffron increased the swimming time in mice and the reason for this The antidepressant effect of saffron and its effect on the epinephrine system have been attributed. In Fatehi et al.'s research (2006), the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of saffron reduced the average arterial blood pressure in anesthetized rats, which was attributed to the effect of saffron extract on the peripheral resistance of blood vessels. It has been found that guinea pig has a relatively strong dilation effect which is comparable and even higher than theophylline, and saffron was largely responsible for this effect of saffron. In studies, it was shown that crocin has anti-atherosclerosis properties and prevents the increase of triglycerides, LDL, and cholesterol in the blood serum.