Glutathione is an endogenous major redox couple in animal cells and plays important roles in antioxidant defense. Recently, we have shown that protein-bound glutathione concentration in plasma is transiently elevated after oral intake of glutathione, which has not been reported in the previous studies. However, impact of oral intake of glutathione on exercise-induced physiological changes remains unclear. In the present studies, effects of supplementation of glutathione on exercise-induced fatigue were examined in animal model and human trial. In mouse experiment, ICR mice were divided into four different groups: sedentary, sedentary supplemented with glutathione (2.0%, 5 �l/g body weight) (KOHJIN life science), exercise, and exercise supplemented with glutathione. After 2 weeks of supplementation, exercise groups performed treadmill running at 25 m/min for 30min. Plasma non-esterified fatty acids after exercise was significantly decreased in the mice supplemented with glutathione compared with exercise control. Intermuscular pH was decreased immediately after the exercise, which was suppressed by supplementation of glutathione. The levels of PGC-1a protein and mitochondria DNA were significantly elevated in glutathione-supplemented sedentary group compared with control.    Eight healthy men (35.9 � 2.0 yr) participated in a double-blind, cross-over study. They received glutathione (1g/day) or placebo for 2 weeks. Then, they performed cycling ergometer at 40% HRmax for 60 min. The exercise-induced elevation of blood lactate was suppressed by two week-supplementation of glutathione. Reduction of protein-bound glutathione level by exercise was moderated in glutathione-supplemented group. Psychological evaluation revealed that supplementation of glutathione moderated exercise-induced fatigue. These results suggest that glutathione improved lipid metabolism and acidification in muscle during exercise, which leads to the decrease of muscle fatigue.

Potential benefit of glutathione supplementation in sports field: Prevention of exercise-induced muscle fatigue

248th National Meeting (2014)

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