Abstract
Dityrosine (Dityr) has been detected in commercial food as a product of protein oxidation and has been shown to pose a threat to human health. This study aims to investigate whether Dityr causes a decrease in lactic acid metabolism in the gastrocnemius muscle during endurance exercise. C57BL/6 mice were administered Dityr or saline by gavage for 13 weeks and underwent an endurance exercise test on a treadmill. Dityr caused a severe reduction in motion displacement and endurance time, along with a significant increase in lactic acid accumulation in the blood and gastrocnemius muscle in mice after exercise. Dityr induced significant mitochondrial defects in the gastrocnemius muscle of mice. Additionally, Dityr induced serious oxidative stress in the gastrocnemius muscle, accompanied by inflammation, which might be one of the causes of mitochondrial dysfunction. Moreover, significant apoptosis in the gastrocnemius muscle increased after exposure to Dityr. This study confirmed that Dityr induced oxidative stress in the gastrocnemius muscle, which further caused significant mitochondrial damage in the gastrocnemius muscle cell, resulting in decreased capacity of lactic acid metabolism and finally affected performance in endurance exercise. This may be one of the possible mechanisms by which highly oxidized foods cause a decreased muscle energy metabolism.