Objectives : Bambusae Caulis in Liquamen (BCL) has been used for stamina fortification in Oriental Medicine for thousand years. The goal of the present study was to investigate the muscle antifatigue effect of BCL.
Methods : The mice were divided into three groups. The control group was allowed to swim for 10 minutes without BCL infusion. For the preventive effect of BCL, another group referred to BCL-1 was fed with BCL an hour before the swimming exercise. BCL-2 group for the reversion effect was forced to swim for 10 minutes at first, then fed with BCL followed by half an hour rest and another 10 minute swimming exercise. All the serum samples collected by heart puncture were used for the measuring biochemical factors such as LDH, CPK, glucose, lactate, triglycerides and total cholesterol.
Results : In the BCL-2 group, lactate and LDH were significantly reduced compared to the control. BCL infusion during the exercise was effective in metabolizing LDH, reducing the conversion ratio of pyruvate into lactate. In the BCL-1 group, it was not effective in antifatigue function. The level of glucose was significantly reduced in BCL-1 group compared to the control. When the BCL was infused before the exercise, it is assumed that glycogenolysis seen during the exercise was prevented. When the BCL was infused during the exercise, the triglycerides and total cholesterol were increased significantly compared to the control. BCL seems to cause the increase of lipolysis to utilize the fat as an energy source. Unlike other parameters, CPK did not show any changes from BCL infusion.
Conclusions : Based on the above results, BCL is found to be involved in energy metabolism. Further studies are needed to find out the underlying mechanism of BCL for its effect on stamina fortification. (J Korean Oriental Med 2001;22(4):90-100)
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