en public specific orginal article <table align="center" class="Table" style="width:100.0%; background:#fce8fb; border-collapse:collapse" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border-color: rgb(29, 29, 53) currentcolor currentcolor; border-style: solid none none; border-width: 2px medium medium; width: 68%; padding: 0in 7px; background-color: rgb(252, 232, 251); text-align: justify;" valign="top"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Background:</span></span></span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> Increased consumption of fat and sugar has been linked to obesity and diseases like non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Lycopene (LYC), an antioxidant, has been studied for its potential in protecting against fatty liver damage. This study aims to investigate how lycopene affects the antioxidant system and the expression of the adiponectin gene in rats with fatty liver disease. <b>Methods:</b> Wistar rats were divided into three groups: control, n=8), high fat diet (HFD, n=8), and lycopene (HFD+LYC, n=8). The lycopene group received a solution containing 100 mg/kg of lycopene three days a week, while the other groups received standard food for eight weeks via gavage. The levels of adiponectin gene expression in the liver were assessed using the real time PCR method. Additionally, the levels of antioxidant enzymes in the serum were measured using ELISA. <b><span style="color:black">Results:</span></b><span style="color:black"> Although lycopene did not have a significant therapeutic effect on malondialdehyde (MDA) compared HFD group (<i>P</i>=0.6103), it improved the levels of the SOD enzyme and the expression of the adiponectin gene compared with HFD group (<i>P</i>=0.0002, <i>P</i>=0.0001). This was a significant decrease in collagen deposition in liver tissue of HFD+LYC group compared to HFD group (<i>P</i><0.0001). </span><b>Conclusion:</b> Lycopene demonstrates the potential as a therapeutic option for NAFLD. However, more trials are needed to support this idea.</span></span></span><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="letter-spacing:-.1pt"></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div style="text-align: justify;"></div> SOD, MDA, Lycopene, Liver, Antioxidant, Adiponectin, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Oxidative stress. 227 235 http://jnfs.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1168-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Nastaran Amini nastaranamini1214@gmail.com 0009-0002-0819-7808 No Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Literature, Humanities and Social Sciences, Islamic Azad University Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran Mandana Gholami gholami_man@yahoo.com 0000-0001-8960-4123 Yes Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Literature, Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Seyyedmostafa Seyyedashour scholarly.smostafa@gmail.com 0009-0008-1518-3627 No Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Literature, Humanities and Social Sciences, Islamic Azad University Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran Mansour Shoae mansourshoae.research@gmail.com 0009-0001-0738-3820 No Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Literature, Humanities and Social Sciences, Islamic Azad University Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran