Abstract

The object of this study was to investigate stimulatory effects of soybean isoflavones (SI) on exercise performance based on swimming time to fatigue in mice. The mice were randomly divided into four groups: a control group and three treatment groups. The control group was administered with distilled water and the treatment groups were administered with SI of 50, 200 and 500 mg/kg body weight by gavage every day for 5 weeks. The swimming test was performed and the biochemical parameters related to fatigue were examined. The results showed that soybean isoflavones prolonged the exhaustive swimming time in mice, as well as increasing the hepatic glycogen, but decreased the serum urea nitrogen and blood lactic acid levels, which indicated that soybean isoflavones had stimulatory effects on exercise performance.

Key words: Stimulatory effects, soybean isoflavones, exercise performance, mice.