Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: The present study was undertaken to elucidate the intervention of Erythroxylum coca (E. coca) in high altitude acclimatization and endurance performance. This study was also programmed to compare and correlate the effect of both E. coca (alkaloid) and a known sulphonamide drug, acetazolamide (as a positive control) in high altitude acclimatization. Experiment was conducted in two phases, Phase-I and Phase-II. In the phase-I study, animals were exposed to a simulated high altitude of 7,620m for 24h duration. Concurrently, E. coca and acetazolamide were prior administered at 25mg/kg body wt, each in separate groups to assess their role in high altitude acclimatization. In the phase II study, animals were subjected to force swim exercise in order to investigate the role of E. coca in enhancing endurance performance. Both E. coca and acetazolamide could efficiently restore the hypoxia induced biochemical changes at par to that of normoxia. However, E. coca was found to make more of the availability of blood glucose (P<0.01), restore liver glycogen (P<0.01), and lowers the level of blood lactate (P<0.05). Also, the E. coca administration resulted into a more prolonged swimming time, indicating less fatigue in those groups of animals. Histopathological findings demonstrated the absence of muscular damage due to forceful swim exercise in the E. coca treated rats. The present study findings therefore justify the importance of E. coca in high altitude acclimatization and improving endurance performance.
Language: English
Topic: High Altitude and Hypoxia
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4288335944