The Effects of 8-week Acetic Acid Feeding on Endurance Performance and Fat Metabolism in Skeletal Muscle of Mice

Abstract

PURPOSE:The combined effect of acetic acid supplementation and endurance exercise training on fatty acid metabolism and skeletal muscle functions are not well known. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 8-week acetic acid administration with or without endurance exercise training on fatty acid metabolism and skeletal muscle functions using mice.METHODS: Fourty-eight male wild-type ICR mice (10-week old) were randomly divided into 4 groups: sedentary control (Sed+Con), sedentary sodium acetate (Sed+NaAc), exercise control (Exe+Con) and exercise sodium acetate (Exe+NaAc) groups. For acetic acid diet, sodium acetate was incorporated into the chow diet at 5% (w/w). For the exercise training, mice performed 4 days/week of 20 min treadmill running exercise training for 8 weeks. Following 8 weeks of combined treatments of acetic acid and endurance running exercise training, visceral fat mass and skeletal muscle mass, blood parameters, and the markers for fatty acid metabolism were analyzed. The results were analyzed with one-way ANOVA (p<.05) using the SPSS 21 program.RESULTS: Eight weeks of Exe+NaAc treatment significantly increased maximal running time compared with Sed+Con and Exe+Con groups (p<.05). Eight weeks of Exe+NaAc treatment significantly decreased fatty acid synthesis-related FAS (fatty acid synthase) protein levels compared with the Sed+Con group, and increased fatty acid oxidation-related CPT1B (carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1B) protein levels compared with Sed+Con and Sed+NaAc groups (p<.05). This combined treatment of acetic acid and endurance exercise training also increased AMPK activation compared with the Sed+Con and the Sed+NaAc groups (p<.05).CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that there were synergistic effects of the treatment of 8-week acetic acid supplementation and endurance exercise training on the reductions of body weight and visceral fat mass and an increase in endurance performance.