薬理と治療

Abstract

Objective A mixture of 17 amino acids with the same amino acid composition as hornet larvalsaliva has been suggested to increase fatty acid oxidation as well as improve performancein endurance exercise. Accumulating evidence is arousing interest in the possible antifatigueeffects of the mixture. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of theamino acid mixture on fatigue induced by daily activities and by physical load in healthyvolunteers.Methods Seventeen healthy volunteers participated in a double−blind, placebo−controlledcrossover clinical study. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups, and were providedwith the amino acid mixture（6000 mg／day）or placebo for 8 days. After a 7−day periodof daily activities, on day 8, they were subjected to fatigue−inducing workload trials on acycle ergometer at fixed workloads for 4 hr, followed by a 4 hr resting period. We evaluatedtheir subjective fatigue sensation at several time points primarily by the visual analogue scale（VAS）.Results After the 7−day period, the VAS score assessed before the physical load was significantlylower in the amino acid mixture group compared with that in the placebo group.Also, the scores after 2 and 4 hr of workload were significantly lower in the amino acid mixturegroup compared with the placebo group.Conclusions The results of this study suggest that the 17 amino acid mixture is effectiveand useful to attenuate daily activity−induced fatigue and also physical workload−inducedfatigue.（Jpn Pharmacol Ther 2009；37：433−43）KEY WORDS A 17 amino acid mixture, Fatigue, Visual analogue scale, Daily activities,Workload