Curcumin (CCM) is a well-known phytocompound and food component found in the spice turmeric and has multifunctional bioactivities. However, few studies have examined its effects on exercise performance and physical fatigue. We aimed to evaluate the potential beneficial effects of CCM supplementation on fatigue and ergogenic function following physical challenge in mice. Male ICR mice were divided into four groups to receive vehicle or CCM (180 μg/mL) by oral gavage at 0, 12.3, 24.6, or 61.5 mL/kg/day for four weeks. Exercise performance and anti-fatigue function were evaluated after physical challenge by forelimb grip strength, exhaustive swimming time, and levels of physical fatigue-associated biomarkers serum lactate, ammonia, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and glucose and tissue damage markers such as aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), and creatine kinase (CK). CCM supplementation dose-dependently increased grip strength and endurance performance and significantly decreased lactate, ammonia, BUN, AST, ALT, and CK levels after physical challenge. Muscular glycogen content, an important energy source for exercise, was significantly increased. CCM supplementation had few subchronic toxic effects. CCM supplementation may have a wide spectrum of bioactivities for promoting health, improving exercise performance and preventing fatigue.

Resveratrol (RES) is a well-known phytocompound and food component which has antioxidative and multifunctional bioactivities. However, there is limited evidence for the effects of RES on physical fatigue and exercise performance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential beneficial effects of trans-RES on fatigue and ergogenic functions following physiological challenge. Male ICR mice from four groups (n = 8 per group) were orally administered RES for 21 days at 0, 25, 50, and 125 mg/kg/day, which were respectively designated the vehicle, RES-25, RES-50, and RES-125 groups. The anti-fatigue activity and exercise performance were evaluated using forelimb grip strength, exhaustive swimming time, and levels of serum lactate, ammonia, glucose, and creatine kinase (CK) after a 15-min swimming exercise. The exhaustive swimming time of the RES-25 group (24.72 ± 7.35 min) was significantly (p = 0.0179) longer than that of vehicle group (10.83 ± 1.15 min). A trend analysis revealed that RES treatments increased the grip strength. RES supplementation also produced dose-dependent decreases in serum lactate and ammonia levels and CK activity and also an increase in glucose levels in dose-dependent manners after the 15-min swimming test. The mechanism was related to the increased energy utilization (as blood glucose), and decreased serum levels of lactate, ammonia, and CK. Therefore, RES could be a potential agent with an anti-fatigue pharmacological effect.

The present study evaluated the potential beneficial effect of kefir (KF) against fatigue. Furthermore, the composition of the gut microbiota is related to health benefits in the host; therefore, the study also investigated the effect of KF on the gut microbiota composition. Male ICR mice from four groups (n = 8 per group) were orally administered KF once daily for four weeks at 0, 2.15, 4.31, and 10.76 g/kg/day and were designated as the vehicle, KF-1X, KF-2X, and KF-5X groups, respectively. The gut microbiota was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results showed a significant clustering of cecum after treatment in the vehicle, KF-1X, KF-2X, and KF-5X groups. The KF-2X and KF-5X groups showed a decreased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio compared with the vehicle group. In addition, anti-fatigue activity and exercise performance were evaluated on the basis of exhaustive swimming time, forelimb grip strength, and levels of serum lactate, ammonia, glucose, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and creatine kinase (CK) after a swimming exercise. The exhaustive swimming time for the KF-1X, KF-2X, and KF-5X groups was significantly longer than that for the vehicle group, and the forelimb grip strength of the KF-1X, KF-2X, and KF-5X groups was also significantly higher than that of the vehicle group. KF supplementation also decreased serum lactate, ammonia, BUN, and CK levels after the swimming test. However, tissue glycogen content, an important energy source for exercise, increased significantly with KF supplementation. Thus, KF supplementation can alter the gut microbiota composition, improve performance, and combat physical fatigue.

Astragalus membranaceus (AM) is a popular “Qi-tonifying” herb with a long history of use as a Traditional Chinese Medicine with multiple biological functions. However, evidence for the effects of AM on exercise performance and physical fatigue is limited. We evaluated the potential beneficial effects of AM on ergogenic and anti-fatigue functions following physiological challenge. Male ICR strain mice were randomly assigned to four groups (n = 10 per group) for treatment: (1) sedentary control and vehicle treatment (vehicle control); (2) exercise training with vehicle treatment (exercise control); and (3) exercise training with AM treatment at 0.615 g/kg/day (Ex-AM1) or (4) 3.075 g/kg/day (Ex-AM5). Both the vehicle and AM were orally administered for 6 weeks. Exercise performance and anti-fatigue function were evaluated by forelimb grip strength, exhaustive swimming time, and levels of serum lactate, ammonia, glucose, and creatine kinase after 15-min swimming exercise. Exercise training combined with AM supplementation increased endurance exercise capacity and increased hepatic and muscle glycogen content. AM reduced exercise-induced accumulation of the byproducts blood lactate and ammonia with acute exercise challenge. Moreover, we found no deleterious effects from AM treatment. Therefore, AM supplementation improved exercise performance and had anti-fatigue effects in mice. It may be an effective ergogenic aid in exercise training.

Resveratrol (RES) has antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic, antiasthmatic, antalgic, and anti-fatigue activities. Exercise training (ET) improves frailty resulting from aging. This study evaluated the effects of a combination of RES supplementation and ET on the exercise performance of aged mice. C57BL/6J mice (16 months old) were randomly divided into four groups: an older control group (OC group), supplementation with RES group (RES group), ET group (ET group), and a combination of ET and RES supplementation group (ET+RES group). Other 10-week-old mice were used as a young control group (Y-Ctrl group). In this study, exercise performance was evaluated using forelimb grip strength and exhaustive swimming time, as well as levels of plasma lactate, ammonia, glucose, and creatine kinase after an acute swimming exercise. Our results showed that the forelimb grip strength of mice in the ET+RES group was significantly higher than those in the OC, RES, and ET groups (by 1.3-, 1.2-, and 1.1-fold, respectively, p < 0.05), and exhibited no difference with the Y-Ctrl group. The endurance swimming test showed that swimming times of the ET and ET+RES groups were significantly longer than those of the OC and RES groups. Moreover, plasma lactate and ammonia levels of the ET + RES group after acute swimming exercise were significantly lower compared to the OC group (p < 0.05). Thus, it was suggested that by combining RES supplementation with ET for 4 weeks, the muscle strength and endurance performance of aged mice were significantly improved compared to the single intervention with either RES or ET alone. This combination might help shorten the extent of deterioration accompanying the aging process.

Chicken essence (CE) is a liquid nutritional supplement made from cooking whole chickens. In traditional Chinese medicine, CE is used to support health, promote healing, increase metabolism, and relieve fatigue. However, few studies have examined the effect of CE on exercise performance and physical fatigue. We aimed to evaluate the potential beneficial effects of CE on fatigue and ergogenic functions following physical challenge in mice. Male ICR mice were divided into four groups to receive vehicle or CE by oral gavage at 0, 845, 1690, or 4225 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks. Exercise performance and anti-fatigue function were evaluated by forelimb grip strength, exhaustive swimming time, and levels of physical fatigue-related biomarkers serum lactate, ammonia, glucose, and creatine kinase (CK) after physical challenge. CE supplementation dose-dependently elevated endurance and grip strength. CE supplementation significantly decreased lactate, ammonia, and CK levels after physical challenge. Tissue glycogen content, an important energy source for exercise, was significantly increased with CE supplementation. In addition, CE supplementation had few subchronic toxic effects. The supplementation with CE can have a wide spectrum of bioactivities on health promotion, performance improvement and anti-fatigue.