Tuna blood hydrolysate mitigates exercise-induced muscle fatigue via energy metabolism and mitochondrial biogenesis

Exercise-induced muscle fatigue is associated with energy depletion, metabolite accumulation, and oxidative stress. These processes are closely linked to molecular mechanisms involving the AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling pathway, which plays a crucial role in regulating energy homeostasis and mitochondrial biogenesis in response to exercise and nutritional interventions. Tuna blood hydrolysate (TBH) is a potential source of bioactive peptides that may regulate energy metabolism and alleviate exercise-induced muscle fatigue. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of TBH as a nutritional supplement on muscle endurance and its anti-fatigue properties in vivo, as well as to identify its bioactive peptides using LC-MS/MS. The findings indicated that TBH significantly increased the time to exhaustion and also had no adverse effects. The liver and skeletal muscle glycogen were significantly increased after administration. TBH induced gene expression that associated with mitochondrial biogenesis. Additionally, the TBH significantly increased the expression of AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling proteins. LC-MS/MS analysis identified over 14,000 peptides, with ATFSPYRDRIPLQIVR as the most abundant, and several peptides predicted to exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.