Millettia speciosa Champ. root extracts relieve exhaustive fatigue by regulating gut microbiota in mice

Exhaustive fatigue (EF) has become a common concern, and using natural active ingredients as prebiotics has become prospective strategy for fatigue alleviation. Millettia speciosa Champ. root (MS) has anti-fatigue activity, but the relationship between MS anti-fatigue effect and gut microbiota remains unclear.

To investigate the relationship between anti-fatigue effect of MS extracts and gut microbiota.

MS was extracted with water and ethanol to obtain MS water extract (MSW) and MS ethanol extract (MSE). Sixty ICR mice were divided into six groups: Control, American ginseng, low-, high-doses MSW and low-, high-doses MSE for 28 days. Fatigue related biochemical indexes and gut microbiota of cecum contents were analyzed.

MSW and MSE effectively prolonged swimming time and climbing time in mice, decreased harmful metabolites, increased the glycogen content in the liver and muscle, and reduced oxidative stress damage. Furthermore, the dysbiosis of gut microbiota induced by EF was restored by MSW and MSE, including enriching beneficial bacteria and depleting harmful bacteria.

The results suggested that MS extracts may effectively alleviate EF though improving exercise endurance, reducing oxidative stress and regulating gut microbiota homeostasis in mice. Therefore, MS extracts may be considered as a prebiotic agent to improve EF.