Objective: Fatigue can be classified as physical and mental depending on the cause. However, in our daily lives, combined fatigue, which is the combination of physical and mental fatigue, is most often experienced. In this study, the effects of (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) on combined fatigue were assessed.
Methods: To produce an animal model of combined fatigue, rats were kept in a cage filled with water to a height of 1.5 cm for 5 d. To evaluate the extent of fatigue, the rats swam with a load of steel rings that weighed approximately 8% of their body weight and were attached to their tails.
Results: Fatigued rats treated with EGCg (50 or 100 mg/kg intraperitoneally [not for 25 mg/kg]) for 5 d could swim longer than fatigued animals given saline. Although levels of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances in the plasma, brain, and skeletal muscle were not different between control and fatigued rats, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance levels were higher in livers of fatigued animals than in livers of control animals. Oral intake of EGCg (50 or 100 mg/kg) for 5 d significantly decreased thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance levels in livers of fatigued animals.
Conclusion: These results suggest that EGCg (50 or 100 mg/kg) is effective for attenuating fatigue. EGCg given orally appears to have an antioxidant effect on the oxidatively damaged liver of fatigued animals.