PMID- 27856303 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20170703 LR - 20170703 IS - 1872-7573 (Electronic) IS - 0378-8741 (Linking) VI - 195 DP - 2017 Jan 4 TI - Effects of Tibetan turnip (Brassica rapa L.) on promoting hypoxia-tolerance in healthy humans. PG - 246-254 LID - S0378-8741(16)31895-5 [pii] LID - 10.1016/j.jep.2016.11.028 [doi] AB - ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: 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 STUDY: This research systematically studied the effects of Tibetan turnip on promoting hypoxia-tolerance in humans and the mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 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 7.5g turnip powder 2 times daily while 4 males and 5 females in control group fed with 7.5g radish powder twice a day. Subjects were required to undergo a hypoxia tolerance test (7.1% O(2)) 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. RESULTS: The females' SpO(2) 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 O(2) pulse and peak VO(2)/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. CONCLUSIONS: Consumption 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. CI - Copyright (c) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. FAU - Chu, Bingquan AU - Chu B AD - College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Zhejiang Engineering Center for Food Technology and Equipment, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China. FAU - Chen, Chun AU - Chen C AD - College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Zhejiang Engineering Center for Food Technology and Equipment, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China. FAU - Li, Jiaojie AU - Li J AD - Aviation Medicine Training Center of Hangzhou, Hangzhou 310013, Zhejiang, China. FAU - Chen, Xiaojian AU - Chen X AD - Aviation Medicine Training Center of Hangzhou, Hangzhou 310013, Zhejiang, China. FAU - Li, Yunhong AU - Li Y AD - College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Zhejiang Engineering Center for Food Technology and Equipment, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China. FAU - Tang, Weimin AU - Tang W AD - College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Zhejiang Engineering Center for Food Technology and Equipment, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China. FAU - Jin, Lu AU - Jin L AD - College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Zhejiang Engineering Center for Food Technology and Equipment, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China. FAU - Zhang, Ying AU - Zhang Y AD - College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Zhejiang Engineering Center for Food Technology and Equipment, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: yzhang@zju.edu.cn. LA - eng PT - Clinical Trial PT - Journal Article DEP - 20161114 PL - Ireland TA - J Ethnopharmacol JT - Journal of ethnopharmacology JID - 7903310 RN - 0 (Antioxidants) RN - 0 (Biomarkers) RN - 0 (Hemoglobins) RN - 0 (Plant Extracts) SB - IM MH - *Acclimatization MH - Adult MH - *Altitude MH - Altitude Sickness/blood/physiopathology/*prevention & control MH - Anaerobic Threshold MH - Antioxidants/metabolism MH - Biomarkers/blood MH - Brassica rapa/*chemistry MH - *Cardiorespiratory Fitness MH - China MH - Erythrocyte Indices MH - Exercise Test MH - Female MH - Health Status MH - Healthy Volunteers MH - Hemoglobins/metabolism MH - Humans MH - Male MH - Oxidative Stress/drug effects MH - Oxygen Consumption MH - Phytotherapy MH - Plant Extracts/*administration & dosage/isolation & purification MH - Plants, Medicinal MH - Single-Blind Method MH - Time Factors MH - Young Adult OTO - NOTNLM OT - Anti-hypoxia capacity OT - Cardiopulmonary function OT - Human feeding trial OT - Hypoxia tolerance OT - Tibetan turnip (Brassica rapa L.) EDAT- 2016/11/20 06:00 MHDA- 2017/07/04 06:00 CRDT- 2016/11/19 06:00 PHST- 2016/08/27 00:00 [received] PHST- 2016/10/25 00:00 [revised] PHST- 2016/11/13 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2016/11/20 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2017/07/04 06:00 [medline] PHST- 2016/11/19 06:00 [entrez] AID - S0378-8741(16)31895-5 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.jep.2016.11.028 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - J Ethnopharmacol. 2017 Jan 4;195:246-254. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2016.11.028. Epub 2016 Nov 14.