Korean mistletoe (Viscum album coloratum) extract improves endurance capacity in mice by stimulating mitochondrial activity.

Abstract The beneficial effects of exercise on overall health make it desirable to identify the orally active agents that enhance the effects of exercise in an effort to cure metabolic diseases. Natural compounds such as resveratrol (RSV) are known to increase endurance by potentiating mitochondrial function. Korean mistletoe (Viscum album coloratum) extract (KME) has characteristics similar to those of RSV. In the present study, we determined whether KME could increase mitochondrial activity and exert an anti-fatigue effect. We found that KME treatment significantly increased the mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in L6 cells and increased the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator (PGC)-1α and silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog 1 (SIRT1), two major regulators of mitochondria function, in C2C12 cells. In the treadmill test, KME-treated mice could run 2.5-times longer than chow-fed control mice. Additionally, plasma lactate levels of exhausted mice...