Abstract
Taurine enhances physical performance; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study examined the effect of taurine on the overtime dynamics of blood glucose concentration (BGC) during endurance exercise in rats. Male F344 rats were subjected to transient treadmill exercise until exhaustion following 3 weeks of taurine supplementation or non-supplementation (TAU and CON groups). Every 10 min during exercise, BGC was measured in blood collected through cannulation of the jugular vein. Gluconeogenesis-, lipolysis-, and fatty acid oxidation-related factors in the plasma, liver, and skeletal muscles were also analyzed after 120-min run. Exercise time to exhaustion was significantly longer with taurine supplementation. BGC in the two groups significantly increased by 40 min and gradually and significantly decreased toward the respective exhaustion point. The decline in BGC from the peak at 40 min was significantly slower in the TAU group. The time when the once-increased BGC regressed to the 0-time level was significantly and positively correlated with exercise time until exhaustion. At the 120-min point, where the difference in BGC between the two groups was most significant, plasma free fatty acid concentration and acetyl-carnitine and N-acetyltaurine concentrations in skeletal muscle were significantly higher in the TAU group, whereas glycogen and glucogenic amino acid concentrations and G6Pase activity in the liver were not different between the two groups. Taurine supplementation enhances endurance capacity by delaying the decrease in BGC toward exhaustion through increases of lipolysis in adipose tissues and fatty acid oxidation in skeletal muscles during endurance exercise.
Highlights
Glucose is the main energy source during exercise, and maintenance of blood glucose concentration (BGC) is the primary factor affecting endurance exercise performance (Suh et al 2007)
Blood glucose concentration during exercise is constantly maintained by the supply of glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis in the liver, which are regulated by hormones and nerves (Suh et al 2007), but it gradually decreases depending on the duration and amount of endurance exercise (Nybo 2003)
We evaluated the changes in glucose concentration over time during endurance treadmill running in blood samples of rats supplemented with and without taurine
Summary
Glucose is the main energy source during exercise, and maintenance of blood glucose concentration (BGC) is the primary factor affecting endurance exercise performance (Suh et al 2007). We have shown a significant decrease in BGC during treadmill running to exhaustion in rats (Ishikura et al 2011). Repetitive ingestion of 6 g/day (2 g three times a day) for 7 days in humans significantly prolonged exhaustion time in incremental cycle ergometer exercise (Zhang et al 2004). The mechanisms of the effect of taurine supplementation on exercise performance are not clearly understood, evidence suggests that taurine supplementation at a higher dose, higher frequency, and/or long duration can increase the abundance of taurine in body tissues, including the skeletal muscle and liver, contributing to the enhancement of exercise capacity. The same evidence has not been observed in taurine-supplemented rats (Ishikura et al 2011) This non-significant difference in BGC between the conditions with and without taurine supplementation might be due to the different exhaustion points and different running durations. We hypothesized whether the BGC at certain points before exhaustion would be higher in taurine-supplemented rats than in non-supplemented controls
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