Anti-fatigue effects of polysaccharides from Gynostemma pentaphyllum Makino by forced swimming test

The current study was designed to investigate the anti-fatigue effects of polysaccharide of Gynostemma pentaphyllum Makino (GMP). The mice were randomly divided into four groups: control group, low-dose GIMP-treated group, middle-dose GMP-treated group and high-dose GMP-treated group. The animals of control group received an oral administration of physiological saline in a volume of 1.0 mL, and the animals of treated group received the same volume of GMP (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg bodyweight/day) for 28 days. After 28 days, anti-fatigue effects of GM? were assessed by forced swimming test and some biochemical parameters related to fatigue including blood lactic acid (BLA), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPH-Px), liver glycogen and muscle glycogen were measured using commercial kits. The results demonstrated that GMP prolonged the exhaustive swimming time, increased the liver glycogen and muscle glycogen contents, and decreased the BLA and BUN levels. It also improved the SOD and GPH-Px activities in blood of mice. These results indicated that FPR had anti-fatigue effects.