Effect of Erabu sea snake (Laticauda semifasciata) lipids on the swimming endurance of mice.

BACKGROUND/AIM: This study was designed to investigate the effect of Erabu sea snake (Laticauda semifasciata) lipids on the swimming endurance of mice.

METHOD

Twelve-week-old male Crlj: CD-1 (ICR) mice were fed one of three experimental diets containing 6% lard, fish oil or sea snake lipids for 16 weeks. Swimming exercise was conducted in an acrylic plastic tank filled with 25 cm of water maintained at 23 degrees C. Every 4 weeks, the mice were made to perform swimming exercises with loads attached to their tails, corresponding to approximately 1 or 2% of their body weights.

RESULTS

The group fed the sea snake lipid diet exhibited significantly improved swimming endurance compared with the lard diet group (p < 0.05); however, this result was not observed in the fish oil diet group. In the sea snake lipid diet group, plasma and muscle lactates were significantly lower, and plasma glucose and muscle glycogen were significantly higher than in the lard diet group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that the intake of sea snake lipids enhanced the swimming endurance of the mice by delaying the accumulation of lactate during swimming exercise.