Isolated Soy Protein Supplementation Combined With Resistance Training Improves Muscle Strength, Mass, and Physical Performance of Aging Female Mice.

Background/Purpose: In recent years, the aging population has gradually increased, and the aging process is accompanied by health-associated problems, such as loss of muscle mass and weakness. Therefore, it is important to explore alternative strategies for improving the health status and physical fitness of the aged population. In this study, we investigated the effect of soy protein supplementation combined with resistance training on changes in the muscle mass, muscle strength, and functional activity performance of aging mice. Methods: Female Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice were divided into four groups (n = 8 per group): sedentary control (SC), isolated soy protein (ISP) supplementation, resistance training (RT), and a combination of ISP and RT (ISP + RT). The mice in designated groups received oral ISP supplementation (0.123 g/kg/day), RT (5 days/week for a period of 4 weeks), or a combination of both ISP plus RT for 4 weeks. Afterward, we assessed muscle strength, endurance, and anaerobic endurance performance and analyzed blood biochemical and pathological tissue sections to investigate whether there were adverse effects or not in mice. Results: ISP supplementation effectively improved the muscle mass, muscle endurance, and endurance performance of aging female mice. The RT group not only showed similar results with ISP but also increased muscle strength and glycogen content. Nevertheless, the combination of ISP supplementation and RT had greater beneficial effects on muscle strength, physical performance, and glycogen levels (p < 0.05). In addition, the combination of ISP supplementation and RT had significantly increased type II muscle percentage and cross-sectional area (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Although ISP or RT alone improved muscle mass and performance, the combination of ISP with RT showed greater beneficial effects in aging mice. Our findings suggest that regular exercise along with protein supplementation could be an effective strategy to improve overall health and physical fitness among the elderly.

Supplementation of L-Arginine, L-Glutamine, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Folic Acid, and Green Tea Extract Enhances Serum Nitric Oxide Content and Antifatigue Activity in Mice.

It has been reported that abundant nitric oxide content in endothelial cells can increase exercise performance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential beneficial effects of a combined extract comprising L-arginine, L-glutamine, vitamin C, vitamin E, folic acid, and green tea extract (LVFG) on nitric oxide content to decrease exercise fatigue. Male ICR (Institute of Cancer Research) mice were randomly divided into 4 groups and orally administered LVFG for 4 weeks. The 4-week LVFG supplementation significantly increased serum nitric oxide content in the LVFG-1X and LVFG-2X groups. Antifatigue activity and exercise performance were evaluated using forelimb grip strength, exhaustive swimming test, and levels of serum lactate, ammonia, glucose, and creatine kinase (CK) after an acute swimming exercise. LVFG supplementation dose-dependently improved exercise performance and nitric oxide content, and it dose-dependently decreased serum ammonia and CK activity after exhaustive swimming test. LVFG's antifatigue properties appear to manifest by preserving energy storage (as blood glucose) and increasing nitric oxide content. Taken together, our results show that LVFG could have the potential for alleviating physical fatigue due to its pharmacological effect of increasing serum nitric oxide content.

Beneficial effects of a negative ion patch on eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage, inflammation, and exercise performance in badminton athletes.

Complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) are widely applied and accepted for therapeutic purposes because of their numerous benefits. Negative ion treatment belongs to one of the critical categories defined by the National Center for CAM, with such treatment capable of air purification and ameliorating emotional disorders (e.g., depression and seasonal affective disorder). Negative ions can be produced naturally and also by a material with activated energy. Exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) often occurs due to inadequate warm up, high-intensity exercise, overload, and inappropriate posture, especially for high-intensive competition. Few studies have investigated the effects of negative ion treatment on muscular injury in the sports science field. In the current study, we enrolled badminton athletes and induced muscle damage in them through eccentric exercise in the form of a high-intensity squat program. We evaluated the effects of negative ion patches of different intensities at three points (preexercise, postexercise, and recovery) by analyzing physiological indexes (tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α, interleukin [IL]-6, IL-10, creatine kinase [CK], and lactate dehydrogenase [LDH] levels) and performing a functional assessment (a countermovement jump [CMJ] test). We found that a high-intensity negative ion patch could significantly reduce the levels of TNF-α, an injury-associated inflammatory cytokine, and related markers (CK and LDH). In addition, muscular overload-caused fatigue could be also ameliorated, as indicated by the functional CMJ test result, and related muscular characteristics (tone and stiffness) could be effectively improved. Thus, the negative ion treatment could effectively improve physiological adaption and muscular fatigue recovery after EIMD in the current study. The negative ion patch treatment can be further integrated into a taping system to synergistically fulfill exercise-induced damage protection and functional elevation. However, the effects of this treatment require further experimental validation.

Changes in plasma steroids and cytokines levels in betel chewing patients in Taiwan.

Betel nut is the second largest economic food product in Taiwan. In Southeast Asia, the habit of chewing betel nut seems to be highly correlated with oral submucous fibrosis and oral squamous cell carcinoma. Oral submucous fibrosis is characterized by abnormal accumulation of oral submucous collagen fibers and limitation of mouth opening. Although the mechanism responsible for tissue damage is still unknown, prolonged irritation caused by betel nut and tobacco is considered to be a major factor contributing to the pathogenesis of oral submucous fibrosis. The effect of betel nut chewing on immune system remains unknown. Present study aims to investigate the change of plasma hormones including cortisol, testosterone, and inflammatory cytokine concentrations in male chewing betel nut compared with normal subjects. Heparinized blood was obtained from control group (normal young+mid-aged individuals), betel nut-chewing, and oral cancer male subjects. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital. Written informed consent was granted by the patients. Plasma cortisol and testosterone concentrations were detected by commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), IL-15, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), were analyzed by ELISA with commercial monoclonal capture antibodies and polyclonal detection antibodies. The median concentrations of plasma IL-1ß, IL-15, and TNF-α were 3.14pg/ml, 3.14pg/ml, and 6.85pg/ml, respectively, in patients with oral cancer, compared with median plasma IL-1ß, IL-15, and TNF-α concentration of 2.64pg/ml, 5.86pg/ml, and 5.38pg/ml, respectively, in patients with betel nut-chewing habit. In contrast, the median concentrations of plasma IL-1ß, IL-15, and TNF-α in mid-aged males (aged 30-50) were 7.00pg/ml, 10.64pg/ml, and 31.73pg/ml, respectively, compared with median plasma concentration of IL-1ß, IL-15, and TNF-α of 4.48pg/ml, 33.36pg/ml, and 97.77pg/ml in young males (aged 20-22), respectively. Also, significantly elevated plasma cortisol concentration was noted in betel nut-chewing (median 727.2ng/ml) and oral cancer patients (561.9ng/ml) compared to the mid-aged (176.8ng/ml) and young males (173.4ng/ml), respectively. In addition, lower plasma testosterone concentrations were found in betel nut-chewing subjects compared with young males (2.6±3.3ng/ml vs 6.2±2.9ng/ml). To summarize, the inflammatory cytokines and steroid hormones may reflect the degree of inflammation in betel nut-chewing males and the oral cancer subjects. The above findings suggest that betel nut-chewing or oral cancer inhibits plasma cytokines and regulates steroid hormones concentrations compared to mid-aged or young normal subjects. It is also indicated that betel nut-chewing causes decreased inflammatory cytokines as the same levels as in oral cancer subjects.

Whey protein improves exercise performance and biochemical profiles in trained mice.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study is to verify the beneficial effects of whey protein (WP) supplementation on health promotion and enhance exercise performance in an aerobic-exercise training protocol. METHODS: In total, 40 male Institute of Cancer Research mice (4 wk old) were divided into four groups (n = 10 per group): sedentary control with vehicle (SC) or WP supplementation (4.1 g·kg, SC + WP), and exercise training with vehicle (ET) or WP supplementation (4.1 g·kg, ET + WP). Animals in the ET and ET + WP groups underwent swimming endurance training for 6 wk, 5 d·wk. Exercise performance was evaluated by forelimb grip strength and exhaustive swimming time as well as by changes in body composition and biochemical parameters at the end of the experiment. RESULTS: ET significantly decreased final body and muscle weight and levels of albumin, total protein, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, total cholesterol, and triacylglycerol. ET significantly increased grip strength; relative weight (%) of liver, heart, and brown adipose tissue (BAT); and levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, and total bilirubin. WP supplementation significantly decreased final body, muscle, liver, BAT, and kidney weight and relative weight (%) of muscle, liver, and BAT as well as levels of aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, and uric acid. In addition, WP supplementation slightly increased endurance time and significantly increased grip strength and levels of albumin and total protein. CONCLUSION: WP supplementation improved exercise performance, body composition, and biochemical assessments in mice and may be an effective ergogenic aid in aerobic exercise training.

Fucoidan supplementation improves exercise performance and exhibits anti-fatigue action in mice.

Fucoidan (FCD) is a well-known bioactive constituent of seaweed extract that possess a wide spectrum of activities in biological systems, including anti-cancer, anti-inflammation and modulation of immune systems. However, evidence on the effects of FCD on exercise performance and physical fatigue is limited. Therefore, we investigated the potential beneficial effects of FCD on ergogenic and anti-fatigue functions following physiological challenge. Male ICR mice from three groups (n = 8 per group) were orally administered FCD for 21 days at 0, 310 and 620 mg/kg/day, which were, respectively, designated the vehicle, FCD-1X and FCD-2X groups. The results indicated that the FCD supplementations increased the grip strength (p = 0.0002) and endurance swimming time (p = 0.0195) in a dose-depend manner. FCD treatments also produced dose-dependent decreases in serum levels of lactate (p < 0.0001) and ammonia (p = 0.0025), and also an increase in glucose level (p < 0.0001) after the 15-min swimming test. In addition, FCD supplementation had few subchronic toxic effects. Therefore, we suggest that long-term supplementation with FCD can have a wide spectrum of bioactivities on health promotion, performance improvement and anti-fatigue.