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Preventive effects of Spirulina platensis on skeletal muscle damage under exercise-induced oxidative stress

European Journal of Applied Physiology volume 98, pages 220–226 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

The effects of spirulina supplementation on preventing skeletal muscle damage on untrained human beings were examined. Sixteen students volunteered to take Spirulina platensis in addition to their normal diet for 3-weeks. Blood samples were taken after finishing the Bruce incremental treadmill exercise before and after treatment. The results showed that plasma concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) were significantly decreased after supplementation with spirulina (P < 0.05). The activity of blood superoxide dismutase (SOD) was significantly raised after supplementation with spirulina or soy protein (P < 0.05). Both of the blood glutathione peroxidaes (GP x ) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels were significantly different between spirulina and soy protein supplementation by an ANCOVA analysis (P < 0.05). In addition, the lactate (LA) concentration was higher and the time to exhaustion (TE) was significantly extended in the spirulina trail (P < 0.05). These results suggest that ingestion of S. platensis showed preventive effect of the skeletal muscle damage and that probably led to postponement of the time of exhaustion during the all-out exercise.

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Acknowledgment

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of Chuang-Chun Chueh (president of FEMICO, Fareast Microalgae Industry, Taiwan).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sport Science Research Center, National Taiwan College of Physical Education, Taichung, 404, Taiwan

    Hsueh-Kuan Lu & Yuh-Kuan Yang

  2. Department of Physical Education, National Hsin-Chu Teachers University, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan

    Chin-Cheng Hsieh

  3. Department of Holistic Wellness, Mingdao University, ChangHua, 52345, Taiwan

    Jen-Jung Hsu

  4. College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan

    Hong-Nong Chou

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  1. Hsueh-Kuan Lu
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  2. Chin-Cheng Hsieh
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Correspondence to Hsueh-Kuan Lu.

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Lu, HK., Hsieh, CC., Hsu, JJ. et al. Preventive effects of Spirulina platensis on skeletal muscle damage under exercise-induced oxidative stress. Eur J Appl Physiol 98, 220–226 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-006-0263-0

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Keywords

  • Algae
  • Antioxidant
  • Lactate dehydrogenase
  • Fatigue
  • Malondialdehyde