Introduction: Orlistat is a widely used drug in treating obesity as it promotes weight reduction. The aim of this study was to determine the protective effects of orlistat (10 mg/kg/day) on cardiovascular parameters and oxidative stress biomarkers in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese rats. Methods: Twenty-four male rats Sprague Dawley rats were divided into three groups and fed with normal diet (N), HFD and HFD with orlistat (HFD+O). Orlistat was administered daily by oral gavage and after six weeks, all rats were sacrificed. Results: Administration of orlistat along with HFD (HFD+O) has brought significant decreases in Lee obesity index and LDL level compared to HFD group. Activities of cardiac superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) were significantly higher, whereas level of oxidised LDL was significantly lower in HFD+O group compared to HFD group. HFD group had significantly higher necrotic patch area in myocardium while minimal histological changes were seen in HFD+O group. Conclusion: This study may suggest that administration of orlistat at 10 mg/kg/day for 6 weeks may have protective effects against the changes on Lee obesity index, lipid profiles, cardiac oxidative stress biomarkers and histology of myocardium in HFD-induced obese rats possibly through its hypolipidaemic and antioxidant actions.

Introduction: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been found to improve cardiometabolic health outcome as compared to moderate-intensity continuous exercise. However, there is still limited data on the benefits of HIIT on the expression of regulatory proteins that are linked to skeletal muscle metabolism and insulin sensitivity in obese adults. This study investigated the effects of HIIT intervention on expressions of peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor-γ coactivator 1-α (PGC-1α) and adiponectin receptor-1 (AdipoR1), insulin sensitivity (HOMAIR index), and body composition in overweight/obese individuals. Methods: Fifty overweight/obese individuals aged 22-29 years were assigned to either no-exercise control (n=25) or HIIT (n=25) group. The HIIT group underwent a 12-week intervention, three days/week, with intensity of 65-80% of age-based maximum heart rate. Anthropometric measurements, homeostatic model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and gene expression analysis were conducted at baseline and post intervention. Results: Significant time-by-group interactions (p<0.001) were found for body weight, BMI, waist circumference and body fat percentage. The HIIT group had lower body weight (2.3%, p<0.001), BMI (2.7%, p<0.001), waist circumference (2.4%, p<0.001) and body fat percentage (4.3%, p<0.001) post intervention. Compared to baseline, expressions of PGC-1α and AdipoR1 were increased by approximately three-fold (p=0.019) and two-fold (p=0.003) respectively, along with improved insulin sensitivity (33%, p=0.019) in the HIIT group. Conclusion: Findings suggest that HIIT possibly improved insulin sensitivity through modulation of PGC-1α and AdipoR1. This study also showed that improved metabolic responses can occur despite modest reduction in body weight in overweight/obese individuals undergoing HIIT intervention.