Qianhu (Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn) Improves exercise capacity in mice by regulating Nrf2/HO-1 oxidative stress signaling pathway

Abstract

This study assessed the effect of Qianhu (Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn) on the recovery of movement in mice with D-galactose-induced dyskinesia. The evaluation of the ability of mice to exercise revealed that Qianhu increased the running and swimming time to exhaustion in mice with dyskinesia. In addition, measurement of biochemical indices in mice showed that Qianhu altered the serum levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), blood lactic acid (BLA), malonaldehyde (MDA), liver glycogen (HG), muscle glycogen (MG), while the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) remained normal. Additionally, Qianhu regulated the mRNA expression of copper/zinc-superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD), manganese-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD), catalase (CAT), heme oxygenase 1(HO-1), nuclear factor erythroid2-related factor (Nrf2) and syncytin-1 in mice and also protected mice against D-galactose-induced oxidative stress. The analysis of the chemical composition of Qianhu revealed that it mainly contains isochlorogenic acid B, myricetin, baicalin, luteolin, and kaempferol, which are known excellent antioxidants that protect against tissue damage due to oxidative stress and have anti-aging properties. Thus, these compounds may be the active components in Qianhu that improve the ability of mice to exercise, and may also represent the key compounds for its use as natural medicine or health food.