Date 2017/02/23
The fermented vegetable extract (OM-X) contributed to suppress fatigue and enhance muscle endurance!
BIOBANK CO.,
LTD. (located in Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture)
has conducted a collaborative research with associate professor Tomohiro Itoh and
his colleagues from the Graduate School of Bioresources at Mie University (located
in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture) and discovered that the fermented vegetable
extract (OM-X) contributes to suppress fatigue and enhance muscle endurance.
The results
have been published in the first issue of the Natural Product Communications in
2017.
【Abstract】
About 60% of the working
population in Japan is aware of the feeling of fatigue and a half of them are
distressed by symptoms of chronic fatigue (lasted for over 6 months) (1). At
present, a number of studies pertaining to recovery from fatigue have been
progressing and some studies have reported that natural ingredients such as imidazole dipeptide in
chicken breast and astaxanthin in fish are effective (2, 3) for
relieving fatigue.
BIOBANK CO., LTD. develops and
produces an extract (OM-X) that was made with fermented vegetables, fruits,
seaweeds, mushrooms and other ingredients. Many OM-X users have given feedbacks
saying that “they feel less tired after having OM-X”. Therefore, we started
think about the potential of OM-X in relieving fatigue.
Based on these backgrounds,
BIOBANK CO., LTD. conducted a collaborative research with associate professor
Tomohiro Itoh in order to confirm the potential of OM-X in relieving fatigue
and understand its mechanism.
As a result of
a forced swimming test among mice, the swimming duration of the mice with OM-X
is two times longer than the mice without OM-X. We analyzed the liver of mice
and found an increased gene expression level of enzymes which are used for the metabolism
of fatigue-related substances named ammonia. Therefore, we considered that the metabolism
of fatigue-related substances was improved because of the intake of OM-X which
in turn extended the swimming duration of the mice. The study results suggested
that the fatigue-relieving effect was exerted and
muscle endurance was improved by administering OM-X to the mice.
【Procedures】
We performed a forced swimming
test with mice expecting to see the fatigue-relieving effect of OM-X.
We separated mice into 2 groups as one group was
given OM-X and the other group was not dosed with OM-X. The group with OM-X was
given 85 mg/kg of their body weight for 4 weeks continually and was forced to
swim every week for 4 weeks of the test period. The group without OM-X was also
forced to swim following the same parameters as the group with OM-X. As a
result, the swimming duration of the mice with OM-X became approximately two
times longer than the mice without OM-X. The fatigue-relieving effect and the
enhancement of muscle endurance have been confirmed through this test
(Chart1).
After the forced swimming test, we
analyzed the serum components and confirmed the decrease in concentration level of
lipid components (cholesterol, neutral lipid and phosphatide) in
serum and the liver of the mice with OM-X. This means that the lipid components
have been consumed during exercise. In addition, the quantity of lactic acid in
serum decreased. This suggested that lactic acid is reused as a source of
energy during heavy exercise.
Furthermore, after analyzing the
gene expression of enzymes Arg1 and Cps1 which detoxify ammonia: a cause of
fatigue, we confirmed that the gene expression level of the group with OM-X was
higher than the group without OM-X (Chart2).
According to these research results,
an accumulation of fatigue was suppressed among the mice which were dosed with OM-X
and their duration of exercising was elongated. These results encourage us to
expect OM-X to be a helpful food/material for symptomatic relief of fatigue and
an enhancement of muscle endurance.
【Introduction
of instructor Tomohiro Itoh Ph.D.】
Name:
Tomohiro Itoh
Affiliation:
Mie University, Graduate School of Bioresources, Marine Biotechnology Course
Background:
1998 Graduated from National Fisheries University
1998
~ IMURAYA GROUP CO., LTD. Central Institute in position of researcher
2006
~ Gifu Prefectural Global Institute of Biology Healthy Useful Substance
Research Department in position of researcher
2007
~ Gifu Prefectural Global Institute of Biology Healthy Useful Substance
Research Department in position of research specialist
2011
~ Kinki University, Faculty of Agriculture
Fisheries Departments in position of instructor and associate professor
2016
~ Mie University, Graduate School of Bioresources in position of associate
professor until present
