Chitooligosaccharide Induces Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Increases Exercise Endurance through the Activation of Sirt1 and AMPK in Rats

By catabolizing glucose and lipids, mitochondria produce ATPs to meet energy demands. When the number and activity of mitochondria are not sufficient, the human body becomes easily fatigued due to the lack of ATP, thus the control of the quantity and function of mitochondria is important to optimize energy balance. By increasing mitochondrial capacity? it may be possible to enhance energy metabolism and improve exercise endurance. Here, through the screening of various functional food ingredients, we found that chitooligosaccharide (COS) is an effective inducer of mitochondrial biogenesis. In rodents, COS increased the mitochondrial content in skeletal muscle and enhanced exercise endurance. In cultured myocytes, the expression of major regulators of mitochondrial biogenesis and key components of mitochondrial electron transfer chain was increased upon COS treatment. COS-mediated induction of mitochondrial biogenesis was achieved in part by the activation of silent information regulator two ortholog 1 (Sirt1) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Taken together, our data suggest that COS could act as an exercise mimetic by inducing mitochondrial biogenesis and enhancing exercise endurance through the activation of Sirt1 and AMPK.