Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. water extract alleviates exercise-induced fatigue by activating mitochondrial biogenesis via the PGC-1α/NRF1/TFAM axis.
Ying G, Yu J, Jiao L, Liang J, Wu Z
Plant Signaling
It gives rigorous scientific backing to a plant you could grow in your own herb garden, suggesting that everyday culinary and medicinal herbs may offer real, measurable support for energy and physical recovery — not just folklore.
Researchers made a tea-like extract from White Atractylodes, a root used for centuries in Chinese herbal medicine to fight tiredness, then gave it to exhausted mice over 33 days. The mice that received the extract could exercise longer, had more energy stored in their muscles, and showed fewer signs of physical strain — essentially because the plant compounds switched on genes that build new energy factories inside muscle cells. The active ingredients appear to be natural polysaccharides (plant sugars) and two compounds called Atractylenolides, which together trigger a cascade that ramps up the cell's power production.
Key Findings
AMWE is composed of 23.84% polysaccharides, 2.44% Atractylenolide II, and 7.22% Atractylenolide III — the chemical fingerprint linked to its anti-fatigue effects.
Treated mice showed improved grip strength and exercise endurance, increased muscle and liver glycogen storage, and significantly reduced fatigue markers including lactic acid, lactate dehydrogenase, and blood urea nitrogen.
AMWE activated the AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling cascade, which upregulated NRF1 and TFAM to drive mitochondrial biogenesis, enhance TCA cycle flux, and increase ATP synthesis in muscle tissue.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A water extract from White Atractylodes, a herb long used in Chinese medicine for fatigue and weakness, was scientifically shown to boost exercise endurance in mice by stimulating the growth of new mitochondria — the energy-producing structures inside muscle cells — through a specific chain of molecular signals.
Abstract Preview
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. (Baizhu) is a fundamental herb for fortifying the spleen and replenishing qi, specifically used to treat syndromes characteri...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
Was this useful?
Chloroplast Genome Editing Eliminates Gluten Immunogenicity in Triticum aestivum
It could mean that people with celiac disease — roughly 1 in 100 worldwide — may one day safely eat bread made from real wheat, without sacrificing the taste...
Atractylodes macrocephala is a species of Atractylodes that grows in central China. The roots are consumed as a Chinese herbal medicine.