Antifatigue effects of peptide isolated from sheep placenta

摘要

Objective： Fatigue has become one of the major threats to human health in the 21st century. TraditionalChinese medicine （TCM）, which proved to be safer and more effective, has become a hot spot in antifa-tigue research. Human placenta, also called ＂Ziheche＂, has drawn great attention in the antifatigue effectsince the Tang dynasty. However, the shortage of human placenta restricts wide usage of it. According tothe theory of TCM, sheep placenta （SP） also has the effect of nourishing blood, tranquilization, nourish-ing skin, and prolongation of life. The aim of this study was to examine the antifatigue effects of sheepplacenta peptide （SPP）, an extract of sheep placenta, in mice and the mechanism was also studied.Methods： Peptide from fresh SP was extracted via enzymolysis. SPP （0.13g/kg） and soybean peptide（0.65 g/kg） were administrated orally and daily to mice for four weeks. Antifatigue effects of SPP wereestimated on weight-loaded swimming test; A non-weight-loaded swimming test was conducted to elu-cidate underlying the mechanisms of the anti-fatigue effects.Results： Administration of SPP prolonged the weight-loaded swimming time in mice. In addition, SPPsignificantly decreased the levels of muscle malondialdehyde （MDA） and serum lactic acid （LD）, and in-creased the activities of muscle glutathione peroxidase （GSH）, and superoxide dismutase （SOD） and liverglycogen in mice after non-weight-loaded swimming test. Moreover, the electron microscope observationshowed that the muscle fiber bundle ranked neatly, the H band, 1 band, Z line as well as M line weredear and the numbers of mitochondria was normal though some of the mitochondria were swell in SPPtreated mice after non-weight-loaded swimming test.Conclusion： SPP possesses potent abilities for antifatigue; Increasing the anti-oxidant activities and en-ergy reserve as well as improving the ultrastructures in gastrocnemius muscle cells, which may be themechanisms of SPP exerting its antifatigue effects.