Effects of Red Ginseng on Exercise Capacity and Peripheral Fatigue in Mice

Objective: Fatigue can decrease both quality of life and work efficiency. Ginseng is one of the most popular herbal treatments forimproving personal health, with applications in treating fatigue. However, the exact mechanisms of anti-fatigue effects are stillunclear. Thus, we investigated the effect of red ginseng powder (RGP) on exercise capacity and peripheral fatigue using bothbehavioral and molecular experiments in mice. Design: Four-groups behavioral and molecular experiment. Methods: Male 6-weeks-old ICR mice were treated with distilled water, 100, and 200 mg/kg RGP for 5 days via oraladministration. The exercise capacity of each animal group was measured by locomotor activity, rota-rod, hanging wire, and coldswimming tests. Additionally, after performing the treadmill to induce fatigue, lactate expression and molecular experiments were investigated using mice gastrocnemius. Results: Mice treated with RGP exhibited increased exercise capacity in the behavioral tests. Additionally, RGP induced a dose-dependent decrease in lactate levels after high-intensity exercise, and Monocarboxylate transporter (MCT) 4 expressionincreased in groups treated with RGP. However, there was no significant change in MCT1. Conclusions: These results suggest that RGP exerts several anti-fatigue properties by lower lactate and improved exercisecapacity. Increased MCT4 expression may also affect lactate transport. Thus, this study suggests that the anti-fatigue properties ofRGP might be associated with MCT4 activity.