The Anti-fatigue Effect of Glutathione (GSH) Intercalation into Layered Double Hydroxide Nanoparticles for Sports Nutrition Supplements

The accumulation of reactive free radicals will lead to oxidative stress which can cause oxidative damage to bimolecular such as protein, lipid, and DNA. It also can induce injury to tissues or organs and is one of the reasons for fatigue. Therefore, supplementing with antioxidants has been considered to have an important role in reducing the degree of fatigue caused by free radical and oxidative stress. PURPOSE: Glutathione (GSH) possesses a significant antioxidant effect and reduces oxidative stress. However, GSH like other natural anti-oxidants is limited by poor stability, short half-life in vivo, low bioavailability, and is easily degraded by proteolytic or gastrointestinal enzymes. Therefore, using nanomaterials as an efficient delivery system for antioxidants can solve these problems and improve clinical therapy. METHODS: Glutathione (GSH) antioxidants were successfully intercalated into layered double hydroxides (LDH) nanoparticles and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The in vitro cytotoxicity assays was studied by MTT test. The in vivo anti-fatigue effect was examined by animal assay. Sixty mice were randomly divided into six groups with ten mice each: two control groups, two GSH treatment groups and two GSH-LDH treatment groups. The forced swimming test was conducted on the last day and corresponding biochemical parameters were measured. RESULTS: The in vitro cytotoxicity assays indicated that GSH-LDH antioxidant system had no significant cytotoxic effect or obvious toxicity to normal cells. It also prolonged the forced swimming time of the mice by 25% and 41% compared to GSH and control groups, respectively. It had an obvious effect on decreasing the blood urea nitrogen and blood lactic acid, while increasing muscle and hepatic glycogen levels. CONCLUSION: GSH-LDH might be used as a novel antioxidant and anti-fatigue sports nutritional supplement. Future work will focus on the study of antioxidant and anti-fatigue mechanisms at the molecular level.This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No 31100855, 31401019)