Anti-Fatigue Effects of the Unique Polysaccharide Marker of Dendrobium officinale on BALB/c Mice

Abstract

Dendrobium officinale extract shows potent anti-fatigue effects; however, the active substance responsible for these effects remains undetermined. A glucomannan with a huge molecular size of 730 kDa, called DOP, was identified as the unique authentication marker of this expensive herb. DOP exhibited immunomodulating effects on macrophages and lymphocytes in our previous study. Clinical reports also showed that people with fatigue syndrome have a disturbed immune system. Because DOP is the unique and dominant component of D. officinale, we hypothesize that DOP may also have anti-fatigue activity. The present study aims to evaluate the anti-fatigue activity of DOP on BALB/c mice, with Rhodiola rosea extract as a positive control. DOP and Rhodiola rosea extract were orally administered at doses of 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg, respectively, for four weeks, and the anti-fatigue activity of DOP on BALB/c mice was evaluated using the weight-loaded swimming test. The contents of lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine phosphokinase (CK), triglyceride (TG), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), lactic acid (LD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in serum, glycogen of liver and gastrocnemius muscle were also determined. Their effects on variability of T cells and B cells were determined by using tetrazolium compound (MTS) method. The weight-loaded swimming exercise caused fatigue syndrome, mainly including the decreases of serum SOD/GSH-Px and gastrocnemius glycogen, as well as the increases of LDH, BUN, MDA, CK, TG, and LD in serum. All of these indicators of fatigue were inhibited to a certain extent by both DOP and Rhodiola rosea extract; however, the effects of DOP were much stronger than those of Rhodiola rosea extract. Compared to the positive control, mice dosed with DOP showed increases in endurance, body weight, and food intake. Furthermore, DOP-feeding mice significantly increased the cell variability of T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes, compared with that of mice in control group. This study indicates that the unique and dominant polysaccharide DOP of D. officinale has stronger anti-fatigue activity than Rhodiola rosea extract. As such, DOP has promising potential for pharmaceutical development into health products to reduce fatigue.

Rho, a Fraction From Rhodiola crenulate, Ameliorates Hepatic Steatosis in Mice Models

“…Numerous studies have shown that R. crenulata has neuroprotective, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-depression, anti-fatigue, immune regulation, and other effects (Lekomtseva et al, 2017 ; Wei et al, 2017 ). Lin et al indicated that R. crenulata root extract (RCE), which contained 3.5% salidroside, regulated hepatic glycogen, and lipid metabolism in vitro (HepG2 cells) and in vivo (SD rats) via activation of the AMPK pathway (Lin et al, 2016 ).…”

Urolithin A exerts antiobesity effects through enhancing adipose tissue thermogenesis in mice

“…The time when the mouse falls off was measured and scored as the following: 1, falling between 1 and 10 s; 2, between 11 and 25 s; 3, between 26 and 60 s; 4, between 60 and 90 s; 5, after 90 s. The forelimb grip strength test was performed in mice by using a grip strength meter (Columbus Instruments). The antifatigue experiment was performed as described [94]. Briefly, mice were placed in a swimming pool filled with fresh water at 25 ± 1˚C.…”

Grape seed proanthocyanidin extract supplementation affects exhaustive exercise-induced fatigue in mice

“…Nowadays, the development of natural products with the ability of reducing muscle injury and possessing anti-fatigue effects is becoming a major research focus ( 12 ). Previous studies have showed that Dendrobium officinale extract delays fatigue effects through enhancing glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) level and inhibiting malondialdehyde (MDA) content in serum ( 13 ). In the single exhaustive swimming test, dietary tea polyphenols can effectively protect against fatigue by inhibiting serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and IL-6, improving IL 10/TNF-α ratio in serum and reducing IL-1β mRNA expression in liver ( 14 ).…”