eCAM Advance Access originally published online on January 23, 2006
eCAM 2006 3(1):109-115; doi:10.1093/ecam/nek012
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Beneficial Effect of Brewers' Yeast Extract on Daily Activity in a Murine Model of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
1Department of General Medicine, Kanazawa Medical University Ishikawa, Japan, 2Department of Geriatric Medicine, Kanazawa Medical University Ishikawa, Japan, 3Department of Serology, Kanazawa Medical University Ishikawa, Japan, and 4Department of Medicine and Biological Science, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine Gunma, Japan
The aim of this study was to assess the effect of Brewers' yeast extract (BYE) on daily activity in a mouse model of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). CFS was induced by repeated injection of Brucella abortus (BA) antigen every 2 weeks. BYE was orally administered to mice in a dose of 2 g per kg per day for 2 weeks before injecting BA and for 4 weeks thereafter. We evaluated daily running activity in mice receiving BYE as compared with that in untreated mice. Weekly variation of body weight (BW) and survival in both groups was monitored during the observation period. Spleen weight (SW), SW/BW ratio, percent splenic follicular area and expression levels of interferon-
(IFN-
) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) mRNA in spleen were determined in both groups at the time of sacrifice. The daily activity during 2 weeks after the second BA injection was significantly higher in the treated group than in the control. There was no difference in BW between both groups through the experimental course. Two mice in the control died 2 and 7 days after the second injection, whereas no mice in the treated group died. Significantly decreased SW and SW/BW ratio were observed in the treated mice together with elevation of splenic follicular area. There were suppressed IFN-
and IL-10 mRNA levels in spleens from the treated mice. Our results suggest that BYE might have a protective effect on the marked reduction in activity following repeated BA injection via normalization of host immune responses.
Keywords: Brewers' yeast extract – chronic fatigue syndrome – daily activity – spleen
For reprints and all correspondence: Prof. Tsugiyasu Kanda, Department of General Medicine, Kanazawa Medical University, 1-1 Daigaku, Uchinada-machi, Kahoku-gun, Ishikawa 920-0293, Japan. Tel: +81-76-286-2211 ext. 3841; Fax: +81-76-286-2702; E-mail: kandat{at}kanazawa-med.ac.jp