Abstract:

Objective To investigate the anti-fatigue effect of Dendrobium and Panax Quinquefolius Granules（DPQG） on the overtrained mice， and to clarify its possible mechanism. Methods A total of 48 mice were randomly divided into control group （equal volume of distilled water）， low dose of DPQG group （400 mg·kg^-1 DPQG）， medium dose of DPQG group （800 mg·kg^-1 DPQG）， and high dose of DPQG group （1 600 mg·kg^-1 DPQG）. The DPQG were administered by gavage for 35 d， and the rotarod test and swimming endurance test were performed 30 min after last administration. Serum， liver tissue， and muscle tissue were collected from the mice in various groups. ELISA method was used to detect the serum lacticacid （LAC） levels and lactate dehydrogenase （LDH） activities， and the malondialdehyde （MDA） levels， superoxide dismutase （SOD） and glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px） activities， and the liver glycogen and muscle glycogen levels in muscle tissue of the mice in various groups； HE staining was used to observe the pathomorphology of muscle tissue of the mice. Transcriptomics and metabolomics technologies were used to identify the key genes and metabolites in muscle tissue of the mice in control group and high dose of DPQG group and to analyze the correlations between differentially expressed genes（DEGs） and differentially expressed metabolites. Results Compared with control group， the rod turning exhaustion time of the mice in different doses of DPQG groups were significantly increased （P<0.05）， and the swimming exhaution time of the mice in high dose of DPQG group was increased （P<0.05）. Compared with control group， the LDH， SOD， and GSH-Px activities of the mice in medium and high doses of DPQG groups were increased （P<0.01）. Compared with control group， the levels of MDA and liver glycogen of the mice in medium and high doses of DPQG groups were decreased （P<0.05 or P<0.01）. The transcriptomics sequencing results showed that DPQG mainly acted on DEGs such as Trib3 and Olfr495； the Gene Ontology （GO） functional enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） signaling pathway enrichment analysis results showed that the DEGs were mainly enriched in olfactory-related processes and signaling pathways； the metabolomics KEGG analysis results showed that the differential metabolites were mainly enriched in the regulation pathway of inflammatory mediators on tryptophan （TRP）； the combined analysis of transcriptomics and metabolomics results showed that the piezo1 gene had high correlations with the differential metabolites β1-solamarine （r=-1， P<0.05） and tilidine （r=1， P<0.05）. Conclusion DPQG can exert an anti-fatigue effect on the overtrained mice by modulating LAC metabolism and glycogen homeostasis， as well as maintaining the oxidative/antioxidant balance in the body； its anti-fatigue mechanism is related to the Olfr495 and piezo1 genes and the regulation pathway of inflammatory mediators on TRP channels.

Key words: Dendrobium and Panax Quinquefolius Granules, Anti-fatigue, Transcriptomics, Metabolomics, Oxidation, Anti-oxidation, Lactic acid