Exercise Combined with Rhodiola sacra Supplementation Improves Exercise Capacity and Ameliorates Exhaustive Exercise‐Induced Muscle Damage through Enhancement of Mitochondrial Quality Control

Abstract

Mounting evidence has firmly established that increased exercise capacity (EC) is associated with considerable improvements in the survival of patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and that antistress capacity is a prognostic predictor of adverse cardiovascular events in patients with CVD. Previous studies have indicated that aerobic exercise (AE) and supplementation with Rhodiola sacra (RS), a natural plant pharmaceutical, improve EC and enable resistance to stress; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study explored the ability of AE and RS, alone or combined, to improve EC and ameliorate exhaustive exercise- (EE-) induced stress and elucidate the mechanism involved. We found that AE and RS significantly increased EC in mice and ameliorated EE-induced stress damage in skeletal and cardiac muscles (SCM); furthermore, a synergistic effect was detected for the first time. To our knowledge, the present work is the first to report that AE and RS activate mitophagy, mitochondrial dynamics, and biogenesis in SCM, both in the resting state and after EE. These data indicate that AE and RS synergistically improve EC in mice and protect SCM from EE-induced stress by enhancing mitochondrial quality control, including the activation of mitophagy, mitochondrial dynamics, and biogenesis, both at rest and after EE.

Physical Exercise and Selective Autophagy: Benefit and Risk on Cardiovascular Health

“…It was further suggested that exercise preconditioning augmented mitophagy via H 2 O 2 oxidative stress-induced activation of PI3K [115]. Consistent with this view, it was found that earlier aerobic exercise complemented by a natural herb Rhodiola sacra protected the cardiac and skeletal muscles in exhaustive exercise through enhanced mitophagy [116]. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that exercise preconditioning may also exert protection against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity [117].…”

High-intensity interval training improves metabolic syndrome and body composition in outpatient cardiac rehabilitation patients with myocardial infarction

“…With regards to the respiratory system, respiratory muscle dysfunction is a common manifestation in older patients with CVD [47], Tasoulis et al demonstrated that 12 weeks of HIIT significantly improved respiratory muscle function in older adults with HF [48]. With respect to skeletal muscle, we have previously shown that 4-weeks of aerobic exercise can enhance skeletal muscle mitochondrial biogenesis and function in male mice [49]. Motta et al [50] also showed that HIIT ameliorated fructose-induced metabolic dysfunction in male mice through mitochondrial biogenesis and β-oxidation, via irisin and PGC1 α in skeletal muscle.…”

Mechanical stress protects against osteoarthritis via regulation of the AMPK/NF‐κB signaling pathway

“…But the phosphorylation at S487 of AMPK in mechanical stress is unknown. And inhibition of AMPK activation significantly impaired mitochondrial function and increased the generation of ROS (Dun et al, ; Y. Chen et al, ). IL‐1β is a classic proinflammatory cytokine, so it is not surprising that it inhibits the expressions of AMPK‐α1 (phosphor S487) and IκB (inhibitor of NF‐κB)‐α (IκB‐α).…”