Purpose: The present paper studied the effects of 8 weeks of aerobic training and Ferula gummosa on apelin and stress markers in heart and kidney tissues of hypertensive rats. Fifty adult, male, Wistar rats were randomly classified into five groups: aerobic training (AT), Ferula gummosa (FG), combination of aerobic training and Ferula gummosa (TFG),nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester(L-NAME) and sham (SH). Material and Methods: Training program included treadmill running, 25-64 min per session, 15-22 m/min, 5 sessions a week, for 8 weeks. The FG supplement group (90 mg/kg) was fed through gavage. Hypertension was induced by L-NAME solution, intraperitoneally (10 mg/kg), for 8 weeks, 6 sessions a weekone-way ANOVA and Welch test for repeated measurements with post hoc testing by Tukey were performed to identify differences between groups. Results: AT, FG, and TFG protocols resulted in an increase in apelin, Nitric oxide (NO) in heart and kidney tissues and significantly decreased angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) as compared to L-NAME group. TFG protocols resulted in an increase in apelin and NO in the heart tissue as compared to sham group. In addition FG resulted in an increase in NO and apelin levels in heart and kidney tissues as compared to L-NAME group. Discussion and Conclusion: It seems that aerobic exercise with moderate intensity and herbal supplements of apiaceae increase apelin and reduce blood pressure in rats with hypertension. This study provides the experimental evidence showing that the apelin has hypotensive and cardio protective effects in the kidney and heart tissues of rats |