Background: Abuse of anabolic androgenic steroids has been linked to a variety of different cardiovascular side effects. The use of medicinal herbs has been shown to reduce disease and cardiovascular disorders. This study aimed at examining the structural changes of the cardiac tissue in response to boldenone supplementation along with the alcoholic extract of jujuba during resistance training in male Wistar rats.
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 30 male Wistar rats aged 8-12 weeks (weight 202±9.34 g) were randomly divided into five groups: control, boldenone, extract of iujuba+boldenone, boldenone+resistance training and boldenone+resistance training+extract of jujuba. The resistance training program included climbing the ladder for 8 weeks, 3 days a week, 1 session training in a day and each session consisted of the 3 sets and 5 repetitions. Injection was conducted in depth in the hamstring once a week, on an appointed day. After anesthesia, autopsy was performed and the cardiac tissue was isolated.
Results: The results showed that boldenone caused tissue damage, hyperemia, abnormal cytoplasm and unclear and dispersed nuclei. In the boldenone+resistance training group, the heart tissue had high levels of hyperemia and the muscle cells were a little abnormal. In the boldenone+jujube group, appearance of the tissue was normal and a restorative effect was evident in the tissue.
Conclusion: It seems that boldenone can cause structural damage to the heart tissue and the resistance training along with the jujube extract can reduce some of the cardiovascular disorders (necrosis and inflammation) caused by the use of anabolic steroids.

Background: Apoptosis is a highly regulated process that ensures the tissue and cellular homeostasis. This study aimed at investigating the effect of endurance training and the Ziziphus jujube extract consumption on apoptosis of cardiac tissue in male Wistar rats.
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 32 male Wistar rats aged 8-12 weeks (weighing 195 mg±7.94) were randomly divided into four groups: control, jujube extract, endurance training and endurance training-jujube extract. A moderate endurance training program was conducted for eight weeks and five sessions per week. Rats were received a daily dose of 600 mg/kg of the extract orally. The gene expression of anexin-5 and caspase-3 in cardiac tissue was measured by the real-time PCR.
Results: The results showed that there was a significant difference in the mean weight of the heart tissue of male Wistar rats among different groups (P<0.001). Changes in anexin-5 expression of the cardiac tissue in training-supplementation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.012). Also, the results showed that changes in caspase-3 expression of the cardiac tissue in supplementation (P<0.001), training (P<0.013) and training-supplementation (P<0.0001) groups were significantly lower than the changes in the control group (P<0.012).
Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, it seems that endurance training and jujube extract consumption can have an interactive effect in reducing apoptosis of the cardiac tissue.