Fatigue is a self-limiting
response arising from physical and/or mental weariness, with a consequent
personal and economic morbidity on work performance and social relationships. Anti-fatigue
intervention is therefore urgently sought. “Qi-invigorating” Chinese tonic herbs,
which can improve the energy status in the body according to the theory of traditional
Chinese medicine, may produce beneficial effects in fatigue individuals. The
herbal formula V-Vital capsule (VVC), which comprises 3 “Qi-invigorating”
herbs, namely the root of Rhodiola rosea, Eleutherococcus senticosus and Panax quinquefolium, may produce
anti-fatigue effect. In the present study, we investigated the effect of
acute/long-term VVC treatment (acute: 0.75, 0.2 and 3.75 kg/day × 1 dose;
long-term: 0.075 and 0.25 g/kg/day × 14 doses) on weight-loaded swimming
female ICR mice. The weight-loaded swimming time until exhaustion, indicative
of exercise endurance capacity, was recorded. Plasma levels of glucose,
non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), lactate and reactive oxygen metabolites (ROM)
were measured in the exhausted mice. Glycogen levels in skeletal muscle and
liver tissues were also measured. Mitochondrial function status [such as adenine
nucleotide translocase (ANT) activity and coupling efficiency] was assayed.
Results showed that acute VVC treatment increased the exercise endurance
capacity in weight-loaded swimming mice. The ability of acute VVC treatment to
enhance the exercise endurance was associated with increases in plasma glucose
levels as well as glycogen levels in skeletal muscles and liver tissues, presumably
due to the utilization of plasma lactate for gluconeogenesis and/or glycogen
synthesis in the liver. While acute VVC treatment reduced the plasma ROM level
in weight-loaded swimming mice, it increased the ANT activity. In this regard, the
enhancement in exercise endurance afforded by acute VVC treatment might be due
to an increase in the glucose supply to the skeletal muscle, the amelioration
of systemic oxidative stress and the improvement in mitochondrial function of
skeletal muscle.
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