Shuyu decoction exhibits anti-fatigue properties via alleviating exercise-induced immune dysfunction

Shuyu decoction (SYD), an effective traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been widely used for treating deficiency-related diseases for thousands of years. Meanwhile, exercise-induced fatigue (EF), a common physiological phenomenon observed in physical training, has been treated as a deficient condition in TCM for decades. Currently, not many studies have been conducted on the effect of SYD on EF and little is known about its underlying pharmacological mechanism.

This current study was designed to assess the anti-fatigue roles of SYD and explore its effect on exercise-induced immune dysfunction.

Eighteen rats were randomly divided into three groups: normal control (NC) group, model (M) group, and SYD group (27.8 g/kg). The M and SYD group were given treadmill training for 6 weeks. From the fourth week, the SYD group was administered SYD intragastrically for 3 consecutive weeks. After three weeks of treatment, the rats were anesthetized, and the blood and spleen tissue samples were dissected. The blood sample was devoted to the blood biochemical-related indicators, which were used to evaluate the anti-fatigue of SYD. The expression of Interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IL-17, CD3⁺, and CD4⁺ were detected by ELISA and the level of CD8⁺ of blood was measured through Flow Cytometry (FC). The histopathological changes of spleen tissue samples were determined by Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and an estimation of CD3⁺, CD4⁺, and CD8⁺ expression of spleen tissues were calculated through FC.

Compared with the M group, the SYD group observed an increase in tensile force and the ratio of cortisol to testosterone (TTE/COR), whereas a reduction in the levels of lactic acid (LAC), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatine kinase (CK), (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). ELISA experiments showed that SYD reduced the expressions of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α, IL-17 and increased the expression of IL-10 (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). In the HE test, SYD treatment transformed the structure of the spleen. FC experiments further showed that SYD increased the expressions of CD3⁺, CD4⁺, and CD8⁺ in blood and spleen tissues (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05).

Our findings indicate that SYD can alleviate EF by improving inflammation and immunity. However, the relationship between inflammatory factors and the related immune response remains to be further investigated.