Synergistic Impact of Aerobic Exercise and Resveratrol on White Adipose Tissue Browning in Obese Rats: Mechanistic Exploration and Biological Insights.

Obesity, marked by excessive white adipose tissue (WAT) accumulation, worsens metabolic disorders, and inducing WAT browning is a promising therapy. This study examined the synergistic effects of moderate-intensity aerobic training and resveratrol (RES) on WAT browning and its underlying mechanisms in obese male rats. Male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into a normal diet control group ( = 8) and a high-fat-diet modeling group ( = 32), with the rats in the latter group being further divided randomly in groups of eight into a high-fat group; a high-fat, exercise group; a high-fat, RES group; and a high-fat, exercise-combined-with-RES group. The rats in the exercise intervention groups underwent moderate-intensity aerobic treadmill exercise for one hour daily, six days a week, while those in the RES groups received a 50 mg/kg/d RES solution via gavage before exercise, once daily, six days a week. Both interventions lasted eight weeks. The combined intervention synergistically suppressed weight gain and visceral fat accumulation. WAT browning was enhanced, evidenced by upregulated UCP1 and CIDEA expression. Mitochondrial biogenesis was activated via the SIRT1-PGC-1α-NRF-1-TFAM pathway, accompanied by elevated mitochondrial enzyme activity and improved lipid mobilization (reduced serum free fatty acids and triglycerides). The combination of aerobic exercise and RES promotes WAT browning and lipolysis by enhancing mitochondrial biogenesis and stimulating mitochondrial thermogenesis through the modulation of the SIRT1-PGC-1α-NRF-1-TFAM pathway.