We developed low temperature-aged garlic (LTAG) to remove its unique and spicy flavor and evaluated the anti-fatigue properties of LTAG against exercise-induced fatigue in mice. In the results, the treadmill running time to exhaustion in the mice fed LTAG was prolonged compared with the control. There was significant difference in blood parameters of glucose, lactate, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and free fatty acid (FFA) concentration between the LTAG-fed mice and the control. In addition, LTAG effectively increased the content of glycogen and creatine kinase and the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the muscle. The mechanism underlying the anti-fatigue activity of LTAG is hypothesized to involve increase in postexercise tissue glycogen accumulation to improve the aerobic and anaerobic exercise capacity. LTAG may have an ergogenic effect on endurance exercise while decreasing the levels of FFA, LDH, and lactate, which are associated with the anti-fatigue effect. Thus, LTAG has potential as a pharmacological anti-fatigue agent.
Keywords: aged garlic; creatine kinase; glycogen; lactate; physical fatigue.