Nutr Res Pract.  2011 Aug;5(4):294-300.

Effects of Takju intake and moderate exercise training on brain acetylcholinesterase activity and learning ability in rats

• Kim B
• Yang HJ
• Chang MJ
• Kim SH

Abstract

Takju is a Korean alcoholic beverage made from rice, and is brewed with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of exercise training and moderate Takju consumption on learning ability in 6-week old Sprague-Dawley male rats. The rats were treated with exercise and alcohol for 4 weeks in six separate groups as follows: non-exercised control (CC), exercised control (EC), non-exercised consuming ethanol (CA), exercised consuming ethanol (EA), non-exercised consuming Takju (CT), and exercised consuming Takju (ET). An AIN-93M diet was provided ad libitum. Exercise training was performed at a speed of 10 m/min for 15 minutes per day. Ethanol and Takju were administered daily for 6-7 hours to achieve an intake of about 10 ml after 12 hours of deprivation, and, thereafter, the animals were allowed free access to deionized water. A Y-shaped water maze was used from the third week to understand the effects of exercise and alcohol consumption on learning and memory. After sacrifice, brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity was analyzed. Total caloric intake and body weight changes during the experiment were not significantly different among the groups. AChE activity was not significantly different among the groups. The number of errors for position reversal training in the maze was significantly smaller in the EA group than that in the CA and ET groups, and latency times were shorter in the EA group than those in the CC, EC, CT, and ET groups. The latency difference from the first to the fifth day was shortest in the ET group. The exercised groups showed more errors and latency than those of the non-exercised groups on the first day, but the data became equivalent from the second day. The results indicate that moderate exercise can increase memory and learning and that the combination of exercise and Takju ingestion may enhance learning ability.

Keyword

Takju intake; exercise training; water maze; AChE; learning ability

MeSH Terms

Acetylcholinesterase
Alcohol Drinking
Alcoholic Beverages
Animals
Body Weight Changes
Brain
Diet
Eating
Energy Intake
Ethanol
Humans
Learning
Male
Maze Learning
Memory
Rats
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Yeasts
Acetylcholinesterase
Ethanol

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Daily schedule of the experiment

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  Fig. 2 Y-shaped water maze

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  Fig. 3 Difference of latency from day 1 to day 5. CC, non-exercised control; EC, exercised control; CA, non-exercised consuming ethanol; EA, exercised consuming ethanol; CT, non-exercised consuming Takju; ET, exercised consuming Takju. Bars indicate means ± SEMs. Different letters indicate significantly different values as assessed by Duncan's multiple range test and a one-way ANOVA within a phase (P < 0.05).

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  Fig. 4 Latency during the first (a) and second (b) phases, and the number of errors during the first (c) and second (d) phases of the water maze test in the exercised and non-exercised groups. Each point represents the mean daily performance for 18 rats in each exercised or non-exercised group. *P < 0.05, between exercised and non-exercised groups using a nonparametric test.

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  Fig. 5 Latency during the first (a) and second (b) phases, and the number of errors during the first (c) and second (d) phases of the water maze test in the non-alcoholic, ethanol, and Takju consuming groups. Each point represents the mean daily performance for 12 rats in each non-alcoholic, ethanol, or Takju consuming group. Different letters within a day indicate a significant difference among groups by a nonparametric test (P < 0.05).

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