Antioxidant Deters Exercise-Related Fatigue

An antioxidant compound itself, glutathione also recycle others antioxidants such as vitamins C and E.   Wataru Aoi, from Kyoto Prefectural University  (Japan), and colleagues employed a mouse model to assess the effects of glutathione supplementation on muscle, finding that the compound prevented pH level decreases otherwise associated with exercise.  In addition, sedentary animals fed glutathione experience significant increases in mitochondrial DNA levels and a marker of mitochondria in skeletal muscle (PGC-1alpha) as well.  In their study involving 8 healthy men, assigned to undergo exercise tests with or without glutathione supplementation (1 gm/day for 2 weeks).  Those men who received glutathione displayed lower lactate levels and decreased fatigue measures, as compared to the non-supplemented subjects. The study authors submit that: “glutathione supplementation improved lipid metabolism and acidification in skeletal muscles during exercise, leading to less muscle fatigue.”