Objective To examine the separate or combined effects of aerobic exercise and AlaGln administration on patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods T2DM was induced in rats by feeding a high-fat diet and injecting a low dose of streptozocin.Then they were trained for 8 weeks with or without administration of alanyl glutamine(Ala-Gln).At the end of training,the content of fasting serum glucose (FBG),insulin (INS),C-peptide and glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) were measured and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated.Results Compared with the normal rats,significant increase was observed in the FBG concentration(P＜0.05)and HOMA-IR(P＜0.05),but significant decrease in C-peptide(P＜0.05) and GLP-1(P＜0.01) of the type 2 diabetic rats.Aerobic exercise resulted in significant decrease in the FBG and HOMA-IR levels,but significant increase in the concentration of C-peptide(P＜0.01).Ala-Gln administration reduced FBG (P＜0.05),and promoted the concentrations of serum insulin (P＜0.05),C-peptide (P＜0.01) and GLP-1(P＜0.05) significantly.The combination of aerobic exercise with Ala-Gln administration had a significant interaction on promoting serum insulin(P＜0.05),but not on decreasing FBG and HOMA-IR,or increasing C-peptide and GLP-1.Conclusion The aerobic exercise or Ala-Gln administration can significantly lower blood glucose levels by improving the impaired insulin secretion in type 2 diabetic rats,and their combination has a synergistic effect on promoting insulin secretion.