Cordyceps sinensis is a parasitic fungus known to induce immune response. Cordyceps accelerates recruitment of CD34⁺/Pax7⁺ cells to exercised muscle which results in faster recovery from post-exercise muscle damage.

Background and aims: Quercetin belonging flavonoid has a role to improve diabetic condition. Research aimed to examine and to compare Cape Gooseberry (CG) juice and quercetin supplement on Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) and adiponectin level of high fat diet-Streptozotocin (HFD-STZ) induced rat. Material and method: CG juice 5 ml/kg/d (X1) and 25 ml/kg/d (X2) groups; and quercetin supplement 2.2 mg/kg/d (X3) and 30 mg/kg/d (X4) groups were compared with both of positive (K+) and negative (K-) control. Treatments were given by orally gavage for 28 days to 36 Wistar rats which each group consisted of 6 rats. TAC and adiponectin level were measured by ABTS and ELISA method respectively. Results: There was significantly increase of TAC in treatment groups compared with K(+) (p<0.05). X2 had TAC level significantly higher than X1 (p=0.025). Moreover, adiponectin level of treatment groups were significantly higher than K(+) (p<0.05). Furthermore, X2 had adiponectin level significantly higher than X3 (p<0.001). Conclusion: CG juice 25 ml/kg/d presented better effect than CG juice 5 ml/kg/d, although quercetin 30 mg/kg/d showed the best effects toward both of TAC and adiponectin.

[Purpose] This study examined the effects of longterm pre-exercise Curcuma xanthorriza Roxb supplementation on red blood cell indices along with circulating malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels in response to endurance exercise to address previously inconsistent findings.[Methods] Male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus; n = 20, aged 12–16 weeks) were divided equally into an exercise-only group (C) and three groups supplemented with Curcuma extract at dosages of 6.75 (T1), 13.50 (T2), and 20.25 mg (T3). Curcuma extract supplementation was administered for 28 d immediately prior to exercise.[Results] Following 28 d of exhaustive swimming, the hematocrit and erythrocyte count increased by 15% (p = 0.06). Pre-exercise Curcuma supplementation did not significantly affect mean corpuscular volume or mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. Longterm exercise intervention resulted in elevated MDA levels by 41% (p <0.001), while Curcuma supplementation (13.50 mg) attenuated this increase by 16.6% (p = 0.09). Additionally, Curcuma supplementation resulted in a dose-dependent increase in SOD levels, with an 82.6% increase observed at 20.25 mg (p = 0.028).[Conclusion] Our preliminary findings indicated that pre-exercise supplementation with Curcuma extract had a negligible effect on changes in red blood cell markers, but it mitigated the increase in oxidative stress induced by exercise training. Our future research direction will involve applying the findings to humans.

: Change in gut microbiome diversity (the so-called dysbiosis) is correlated with insulin resistance conditions. Exercise is typically the first management for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), which is generally well-known for improving glucose regulation. The new prebiotics and probiotics, like synbiotics, designed to target specific diseases, require additional studies. While the effectiveness of exercise combined with synbiotics seems promising, this review discusses these agents’ possibility of increasing the gut microbiota’s diversity. Therefore, they could enhance short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). In particular, the synbiotic interaction on gut microbiota, the exercise mechanism in improving gut microbiota, and the prospect of the synergistic effect of the combination of synbiotic and exercise to improve insulin sensitivity are addressed.