Glabridin from Chinese herb licorice inhibits fatigue in mice.

The inhibiting effect of glabridin from Chinese herb Licorice on fatigue was investigated in male BALB/c mice. Mice were divided into the following 4 experimental groups: control group (CG), low dose group (LG), middle dose group (MG) and high dose group (HG,). The control group was given 0.5% Tween 80 solution and the treatment groups (LG, MG, HG) were given various doses of glabridin (5, 10, 20 mg/kg) for 28 consecutive days. Body mass, blood lactic acid (BLA), serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN), liver glycogen and muscle glycogen concentrations in mice were determined. Results showed that glabridin significantly inhibited fatigue, which extended the exhaustive exercise time of mice, effectively delayed the elevation of blood lactic acid and increase in the storage of liver and muscle glycogen.