Anti-fatigue Effects of the Genistein Supplementation in Mice Subjected to Forced Swimming Test

Abstract

Abstract. The present study was designed to evaluate the anti-fatigue effects of genistein in mice subjected to the forced swimming test. Mice were divided into four groups, i.e., one control group and three genistein treated groups. The treated groups were received doses of genistein (7, 15 and 30 mg/kg) dissolved in 1.0 mL of physiological saline, and the control group received same volume of physiological saline via oral gavage once a day. After 28 days, the mice were subjected to the forced swimming test, along with the determination of exhaustive swimming times and some biochemical parameters. The results showed that genistein could prolong exhaustive swimming time of mice, which was accompanied by decreases in blood lactic acid (BLA) and serum urea nitrogen (SUN) levels, increases in liver and muscle glycogen contents, and superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) levels in serum. This indicated that genistein had anti-fatigue effects.