title: Fermented soymilk increases voluntary wheel running activity and sexual behavior in male rats.
abstract: Wheel running by rodents is thought to reflect voluntary exercise in humans. The present study examined the effect of fermented soymilk (FSM) on voluntary wheel running in rats. FSM was prepared from soymilk (SM) using the bacteria Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides. The rats were fed a normal diet for 3 weeks followed by a 3-week administration of diet containing FSM or SM (5% w/w), and then the diets were switched back to a normal diet for 3 weeks. The voluntary wheel running activity was increased by FSM administration, although no changes were observed by SM administration. This effect was observed 2 weeks after FSM administration and lasted 1 week after deprivation of FSM. Then we evaluated the effect of FSM on sexual behavior in male rats. FSM administration for 10 days significantly increased the number of mounts. The protein expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) increased in the hippocampus by FSM administration and it is suggested that FSM may change norepinephrine or dopamine signaling in the brain. Our study provides the first evidence that FSM increases voluntary wheel running activity and sexual behavior and suggests that TH may be involved in these effects.
authors.affiliation: Kikkoman USA R&D Laboratory Inc., 505 South Rosa Road, Suite 107, Madison, WI 53719, USA. tsato@kikkoman.com
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Yasutomo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shinohara
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Ikuko
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: Asahi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matsuyama
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005285:Fermentation; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000201:enzymology; D007934:Leuconostoc / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012420:Running; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D041942:Soy Milk / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase