title: Effects of sweet cassava polysaccharide extracts on endurance exercise in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sweet cassava tubers have abundant carbohydrates consisting of monosaccharides and polysaccharides. In addition, polysaccharides extracted from plants improve sports performance, according to recent studies. We therefore examined whether the administration of sweet cassava polysaccharides (SCPs) benefited endurance performance in rats
  
  
  METHODS
  Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 30, 7 weeks old) were divided into three groups: control (C), exercise (Ex), and exercise plus SCPs administration (ExSCP) (at a dose of 500 mg/kg body weight by gastric intubation for six days in addition to standard rat food and water). An exercise program was implemented in the Ex and ExSCP groups for five days (with no exercise on the sixth day), and then all rats were sacrificed to determine the glycogen content of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, and the blood metabolites after the ExSCP and Ex groups had completed exhaustive running.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The running time to exhaustion of the ExSCP group was significantly longer than that of the Ex group by 49% (64 vs. 43 min). After running to exhaustion, it was seen that although the glycogen content in the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles of the Ex and ExSCP groups was lower compared to the C group, values in the ExSCP group were significantly higher than in the Ex group (p > 0.05). In addition, blood glucose and free fatty acid (FFA) levels were significantly higher in the ExSCP than in the Ex group (p > 0.05). However, no significant differences for blood glucose or FFA were found between the ExSCP and C groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SCP supplementation can prolong exercise endurance in rats. Higher muscle glycogen levels and stable glucose and FFA concentrations in the circulation contributed to the prolonged time to exhaustion.
authors.affiliation: Physical Education Section of General Education, National Sun Yat-Sen University, No, 70, Lienhai Rd,, Kaohsiung City, 80424, Taiwan. t1208t2001@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Chia Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yen
authors.forename: Te Hung
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Tsao
authors.forename: Cheng Uan
authors.initials: CU
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Chang Bin
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Chung Sheng
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Kuo
references.citation: Mol Cells. 2007 Jun 30;23(3):272-9
references.pmid: 17646701
references.citation: Br J Nutr. 2000 Dec;84(6):829-38
references.pmid: 11177199
references.citation: Int J Sports Med. 1981 May;2(2):114-8
references.pmid: 7333741
references.citation: J Appl Physiol Respir Environ Exerc Physiol. 1978 Dec;45(6):1009-15
references.pmid: 730582
references.citation: Pflugers Arch. 1975;354(3):203-12
references.pmid: 1167678
references.citation: Sports Med. 1987 May-Jun;4(3):164-76
references.pmid: 3296088
references.citation: Int J Sport Nutr. 1996 Sep;6(3):272-84
references.pmid: 8876347
references.citation: J Ethnopharmacol. 2004 Jul;93(1):75-81
references.pmid: 15182908
references.citation: Clin Sports Med. 1999 Jul;18(3):469-84, v
references.pmid: 10410835
references.citation: J Appl Physiol (1985). 2001 Jul;91(1):115-22
references.pmid: 11408421
references.citation: Nutrition. 2004 Jul-Aug;20(7-8):669-77
references.pmid: 15212750
references.citation: Sports Med. 1997 Aug;24(2):73-81
references.pmid: 9291549
references.citation: J Sci Med Sport. 2003 Mar;6(1):28-39
references.pmid: 12801208
references.citation: Acta Physiol Scand. 1967 Oct-Nov;71(2):140-50
references.pmid: 5584523
references.citation: Science. 1982 Nov 19;218(4574):755-62
references.pmid: 7134971
references.citation: Int J Biol Macromol. 2008 Jun 1;42(5):447-9
references.pmid: 18405964
references.citation: J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2006 Aug;52(4):287-92
references.pmid: 17087056
references.citation: Sports Med. 1992 Feb;13(2):86-92
references.pmid: 1561511
references.citation: Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1998 May;30(5):763-8
references.pmid: 9588621
references.citation: J Appl Physiol (1985). 2004 Feb;96(2):621-7
references.pmid: 14555686
references.citation: Sports Med. 1984 Nov-Dec;1(6):446-58
references.pmid: 6390613
references.citation: Am J Physiol. 1990 Feb;258(2 Pt 1):E382-9
references.pmid: 2106269
references.citation: J Appl Physiol Respir Environ Exerc Physiol. 1983 Sep;55(3):830-3
references.pmid: 6629920
references.citation: Phytother Res. 2010 Apr;24(4):622-4
references.pmid: 20104503
references.citation: Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2007 Jun;17(3):232-43
references.pmid: 17693685
references.citation: Acta Physiol Scand. 2003 Aug;178(4):385-90
references.pmid: 12864743
references.citation: J Appl Physiol (1985). 1994 Jun;76(6):2364-72
references.pmid: 7928859