Effects of Tibetan turnip (Brassica rapa L.) on promoting hypoxia-tolerance in healthy humans

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• 作者：Bingquan Chu^a ; Chun Chen^a ; Jiaojie Li^b ; Xiaojian Chen^b ; Yunhong Li^a ; Weimin Tang^a ; Lu Jin^a ; Ying Zhang^a ; ^{yzhang@zju.edu.cn}
• 关键词：Tibetan turnip (Brassica rapa L.) ; Anti-hypoxia capacity ; Human feeding trial ; Cardiopulmonary function ; Hypoxia tolerance
• 刊名：Journal of Ethnopharmacology
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：4 January 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：195
• 期：Complete
• 页码：246-254
• 全文大小：1264 K
• 卷排序：195

文摘

Tibetan turnip (Brassica rapa L.), widely distributed in Tibet region, is an edible and medical plant with effects of “tonic and anti-hypoxia” “heat-clearing and detoxification” and “alleviating fatigue” according to traditional Tibetan medical books.Aim of the studyThis research systematically studied the effects of Tibetan turnip on promoting hypoxia-tolerance in humans and the mechanisms.Materials and MethodsA 7-d, self-control and single-blind human feeding trial was conducted among 27 healthy subjects with 8 males and 10 females in feeding group fed with 7.5 g turnip powder 2 times daily while 4 males and 5 females in control group fed with 7.5 g radish powder twice a day. Subjects were required to undergo a hypoxia tolerance test (7.1% O2) and a cardiopulmonary function evaluation (Bruce treadmill protocol) before (1st day) and after (9th day) the trial. Simultaneously, the anti-oxidative activities (SOD, CAT, GSH-Px, MDA), routine and biochemical analyses of blood samples were evaluated.ResultsThe females’ SpO2 increased significantly by 6.4% at the end of the hypoxia tolerance test after taking turnips (p<0.05), and the hypoxia symptoms in most of the subjects were alleviated as well. The anaerobic threshold, peak O2 pulse and peak VO2/kg were significantly improved after 7-d turnip consumption during the Bruce treadmill test (p<0.05). As for the blood analysis, anti-oxidative activities were boosted effectively after the 7-d treatments. Moreover, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) in the males of feeding group increased significantly (p<0.05). However, little changes of all variables were observed in the control group.ConclusionsConsumption of Tibetan turnips for 7 days likely contributed to the hypoxia tolerance in healthy humans, which could be due to its abilities of improving oxygen uptake and delivery, enhancing body antioxidant capacity and increasing MCHC. However, further studies with larger samples and double-blind design are warranted, and future studies covering more diverse populations (unhealthy, athletic) would be also considered. Moreover, researches on identifying Tibetan turnip's active compounds are desired as well.