Ethanolic Extract of Vaccinium corymbosum Alleviates Muscle Fatigue in Mice.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of ethanol extracts of Vaccinium corymbosum (VCE) on exercise-induced fatigue in mice. Mice were randomly divided into three groups; nonexercise control group (CON), exercise control group (Ex-CON), and exercise and VCE supplementation group (Ex-VCE). Compared with Ex-CON, Ex-VCE showed increased endurance exercise capacity on day 21. In Ex-VCE mice, the accumulation of lactate was inhibited and the consumption of fatty acids was enhanced, indicating the delay of muscle fatigue. In addition, VCE supplementation elevated mRNA expression levels of mitochondrial biogenesis-associated genes such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-1γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α), nuclear respiratory factor (NRF), and mitochondrial transcription factor A (Tfam) and fatty acid ß-oxidation-associated genes such as carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT-1), ß-hydroxyacyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase (ß-HAD), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-δ (PPAR-δ). These results suggest that VCE can potentially prevent muscle fatigue by enhancing mitochondrial biogenesis and fatty acid ß-oxidation.

Immunomodulatory Effect of a Salvia plebeia R. Aqueous Extract in Forced Swimming Exercise-induced Mice.

This study investigated the immunomodulatory effect of Salvia plebeia R. aqueous extract (FIE-SP, SPW) in forced swimming exercise-induced mice and the immunostimulatory effects on Raw264.7 cells. Mice were randomly assigned to four groups: the control group (CON), the forced swimming test group (FST), and two FIE-SP groups (low and high dose of FIE-SP). Compared with the control group, the FIE-SP groups showed significantly increased ratios of T lymphocyte surface markers CD4+/CD8+ and major histocompatibility complex (MHC)I/MHCII, as well as increased concentrations of immunoglobulin (Ig)A and IgG. FIE-SP groups significantly increased Th1 cytokines and decreased Th2 cytokines compared with negative control exercise-induced mice. Conversely, the immunostimulatory effects of FIE-SP significantly increased phagocytic activities, nitric oxide (NO) production, and pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin (IL)-1ß in Raw264.7 cells. Furthermore, FIE-SP increased natural killer (NK) cell activities and cytokines (IL-12) in splenocytes compared with the CON group. These results indicated that FIE-SP supplementation could prevent imbalanced immune states and produce immunostimulatory effects to support innate immunity.