Effects of Polysaccharides from Radix astragali on Oxidative Stress Induced by Exhaustive Swimming Exercise in Liver and Muscle of Mice

Polysaccharides, the mainly bioactive ingredient ofRadix Astragali, were evaluated for its effects on the oxidative stress induced by exhaustive swimming exercise of mice. A total of 48 mice were randomly divided into four groups: control group, low-dose polysaccharide fromAstragali radix(RAP) treated group, medium-dose RAP treated group, and high-dose RAP treated group. The control group received only distilled water ig, and the RAP treated groups received different doses of RAP (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, ig) for 28 days. After the final treatment with RAP, the mice were subjected to swimming to exhaustion and the superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) were measured. The data showed that RAP promote increases in the activities of SOD, GPX and CAT in liver and muscle of mice, and the high-dose RAP (200 mg/kg) presented the best effect. These results indicated that RAP possessed protective effects against exercise-induced oxidative stress.