Abstract

Fatigue is a common and serious health problem, and various dietary interventions have previously been employed to ameliorate fatigue. The aim of the current study was to investigate the anti‑fatigue effects of Danish porcine placenta (DPP) and its major dipeptides, including leucine‑glycine (LG) and glycine‑leucine (GL). The anti‑fatigue effects of orally administered DPP, LG and GL were determined using a treadmill exercise test and a forced swimming test (FST) in mice. Additionally, the anti‑inflammatory effects of DPP, LG and GL were investigated in activated splenocytes. The results demonstrated that oral treatment of mice with DPP, LG and GL increased the time to exhaustion during treadmill exercise. Furthermore, DPP, LG and GL enhanced the levels of dopamine, brain‑derived neurotrophic factor and phosphorylated-extracellular signal‑regulated kinase in the brains of mice with treadmill exercise‑induced exhaustive fatigue, and decreased levels of certain proinflammatory cytokines in the serum and spleen, as determined by ELISA and western blot analysis. Following treadmill exercise, commercial kits were employed to demonstrate that DPP, LG and GL reduced the levels of lactate dehydrogenase, lactate, creatine kinase, blood urea nitrogen, alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase in the muscle and/or serum of mice. In addition, DPP, LG and GL enhanced the muscle and liver glycogen levels, catalase activity in the liver and serum superoxide dismutase activity. DPP, LG and GL also increased the proliferation of splenocytes and inhibited proinflammatory cytokine production by reducing the activation of caspase‑1 and nuclear factor‑κB in activated splenocytes, as determined by MTT assays, ELISA and western blotting, respectively. Furthermore, DPP, LG and GL reduced immobility time in the FST in mice. In conclusion, DPP may limit intensive exercise‑induced fatigue by increasing dopaminergic systems and inhibiting inflammatory responses.