Journal Article

Arctigenin enhances swimming endurance of sedentary rats partially by regulation of antioxidant pathways

Ruo-ming WU Yan-yan SUN Ting-ting ZHOU Zhi-yuan ZHU Jing-jing ZHUANG Xuan TANG Jing CHEN Li-hong HU Xu SHEN

2014

Overview

Aim： Arctigenin, a phenylpropanoid dibenzylbutyrolactone lignan found in traditional Chinese herbs, has been determined to exhibit a variety of pharmacological activities, including anti-tumor, anti-inflammation, neuroprotection, and endurance enhancement. In the present study, we investigated the antioxidation and anti-fatigue effects of arctigenin in rats. Methods： Rat L6 skeletal muscle cell line was exposed to H202 （700 pmol/L）, and ROS level was assayed using DCFH-DA as a probe. Male SD rats were injected with arctigenin （15 mg.kg-1., ip） for 6 weeks, and then the weight-loaded forced swimming test （WFST） was performed to evaluate their endurance. The levels of antioxidant-related genes in L6 cells and the skeletal muscles of rats were analyzed using real-time RT-PCR and Western blotting. Results： Incubation of L6 cells with arctigenin （1, 5, and 20 pmol/L） dose-dependently decreased the H2O2-induced ROS production. WFST results demonstrated that chronic administration of arctigenin significantly enhanced the endurance of rats. Furthermore, molecular biology studies on L6 cells and skeletal muscles of the rats showed that arctigenin effectively increased the expression of the antioxidant-related genes, including superoxide dismutase （SOD）, glutathione reductase （Gsr）, glutathione peroxidase （GPX1）, thioredoxin （Txn） and uncoupling protein 2 （UCP2）, through regulation of two potential antioxidant pathways： AMPK/PGC-1α/PPARα in mitochondria and AMPK/p53/Nrf2 in the cell nucleus. Conclusion： Arctigenin efficiently enhances rat swimming endurance by elevation of the antioxidant capacity of the skeletal muscles, which has thereby highlighted the potential of this natural product as an antioxidant in the treatment of fatigue and related diseases.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: AMP-Activated Protein Kinases - metabolism / Animals / Antioxidants - metabolism / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Biomedicine / Cell Line / Fatigue - drug therapy / Fatigue - metabolism / Furans - pharmacology / Glutathione Peroxidase - metabolism / Glutathione Reductase - metabolism / Hydrogen Peroxide - pharmacology / Immunology / Internal Medicine / Ion Channels - metabolism / Lignans - pharmacology / Male / Medical Microbiology / Mitochondria - drug effects / Mitochondria - metabolism / Mitochondrial Proteins - metabolism / Muscle, Skeletal - drug effects / Muscle, Skeletal - metabolism / NF-E2-Related Factor 2 - metabolism / Original / original-article / Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha / Pharmacology/Toxicology / Physical Conditioning, Animal - physiology / Physical Endurance - drug effects / PPAR gamma - metabolism / Rats / Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism / SD大鼠 / Signal Transduction - drug effects / Superoxide Dismutase - metabolism / Swimming - physiology / Thioredoxins - metabolism / Transcription Factors - metabolism / Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 - metabolism / Uncoupling Protein 2 / Vaccine / Western印迹 / 氧化途径 / 游泳 / 牛蒡 / 耐力 / 苷元 / 谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶