The increasing incidence of chronic diseases in elderly adults has gained attention owing to an increase in the elderly population [1]. Older adults with chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and heart diseases require considerable public health resources, and disease complications can cause substantial losses to the social environment [2]. To prevent degenerative neurological diseases in elderly adults and improve their health, there is an urgent need to determine practical measures that can maintain a healthy quality of life. Increasing scientific evidence has demonstrated an association between exercise and degenerative diseases in elderly adults [3]. Therefore, exercise or physical activity is the safest and most effective anti-aging treatment and can prevent cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and age-related brain diseases.

Exercise can suppress various diseases; however, continuous exercise may be difficult owing to differences in an individual’s capacity to continue exercising [4]. Interest in the development of natural products has recently increased, and a wide variety of research has been conducted, ranging from the investigation of raw and functional materials from animals and plants to the development of new substances that have positive effects on physiological activities [5,6]. Most studies on the development of these natural substances have focused on their function as supplements that can provide beneficial pharmacological effects [7]. Furthermore, these substances need to be harmless to the human body, utilizing easily obtained raw materials with a simple production regime. Verifying the magnitude of enhancements to exercise performance rates and identifying the action mechanisms of these supplements can improve the physical activity rates of the elderly in addition to the performance of athletes [8]. Therefore, it is necessary to develop sports drinks or supplements to improve participation in physical activity.

SC, also known as Omjia in South Korea, is a woody plant of the Magnolia family that is mainly distributed in the central and northern regions of South Korea [9]. It has a unique aroma, strong sour taste, and high tannin content. In addition, SC has demonstrated anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties through its pharmacological functions, resulting in hepatoprotective effects [10,11]. As SC is expected to prevent brain disease and improve athletic performance [12], it may be a candidate substance for exercise supplements. However, there are insufficient data on the target protein activities of SC in the human body as limited molecular-level network analyses are available. Therefore, based on the genes regulated by SC, we investigated the most significant mechanisms for addressing brain disease and improving exercise activity through a systemic analysis of its pharmacological functions in exercise supplements.

The purpose of this study was to attempt to predict whether SC could function as a sports supplement to improve athletic performance. Therefore, we screened physiologically active substances of SC from the TCMSP database that can improve exercise capacity after a single intake, investigated target proteins related to its active ingredients, and performed a protein network analysis targeted by SC based on the results of the systematic analysis of their pharmacological functions. These results imply that SC active compounds such as Longikaurin A, Deoxyharringtonine, Angeloylgominsin O, Gomisin-A, -G, and, -R may control inflammation, promote liver metabolism, improve fatigue, and regulate the functions of steroid receptors.

According to the Korean traditional medical book, Dongui Bogam, SC is considered a wonder drug that cleans the blood by improving blood circulation and acts as a natural nourishment tonic with medical efficacy [14]. Several studies have suggested that SC exhibits anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fatigue benefits [15,16]. In a recent randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, quadriceps muscle strength (QMS) values significantly increased following SC administration, and lactate levels significantly decreased in healthy post-menopausal middle-aged women who consumed 1000 mg of SC extract compared to the placebo group [17]. These effects may have resulted from increased ATPase activity and improved mitochondrial function following SC extract supplementation [17]. However, there are insufficient data on molecular level network analyses in the field of exercise metabolism and exercise nutrition. Interestingly, when identifying proteins related to the physiologically active substances of SC in our study, we observed that steroid receptor functions could be improved (Figure 2). Steroids are organic compounds that are used as signal transmitters in the body and produce androgen hormones to promote bone and muscle formation and to increase strength and energy [18]. Muscle strength and metabolism are highly important for maintaining health, especially for athletes because they are directly related to exercise abilities [19,20]. We suggest that the nourishing and tonic effects of SC can relieve the physical fatigue transmitted to the brain after a single uptake.

Inflammatory responses are important for the development of substances that address exercise impairment and various diseases [21]. Excessive exercise or muscle damage can lead to the accumulation of inflammatory factors in the body, thereby harming human health [22]. Acute and chronic inflammation are critical factors in disease development [23]. For example, cycloxygenase-2 (COX-2) is a major biomarker of inflammatory responses, and the expression level of COX rapidly increases when muscles are damaged by acute exercise or inflammation in the body [24]. SC extract leads to a significant decrease in LPS-induced macrophage inflammatory responses both in vitro and in vivo [25]. Our results indicated that SC interacts with the target protein, COX2. Therefore, after a single intake, the active ingredients of SC are expected to improve the capacity and duration of exercise by inhibiting inflammatory responses.

Systemic inflammatory reactions can decrease exercise capacity and increase exercise inactivity [26]. Furthermore, with an increase in obesity and overweight populations because of by overeating habits and sedentary lifestyles, the incidence of diabetes is increasing worldwide [27,28]. Metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, are gradually threatening the health of the global population [29,30]. Several studies have suggested that exercise can mitigate metabolic diseases by regulating the molecular levels [31,32]. For example, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4), which is highly expressed in the liver, is a type of transmembrane peptidase that inhibits type 2 DM [33]. DPP-4 inhibition potentially improves hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance, similar to exercise [34,35]. Our data confirmed that the active compound network in SC helps regulate DDP-4 expression. According to these combined analysis results, exercise after consuming SC can strengthen muscles through steroid signal transduction, promote metabolism, and control inflammation and diabetes.

In recent decades, numerous studies have been conducted, and various theories on the mechanisms of physical fatigue have been published. The generally accepted mechanistic insights are peripheral fatigue caused by energy depletion and central fatigue, which are the effects of neurotransmitters [36]. When physically exhausted, substances accumulated by sustained physical activity and high-intensity exercise fatigue stimulate neurotransmitters to signal the brain for rest [37]. Exercise avoidance is associated with signal transmission in response to fatigue [38]. Several studies have revealed the nourishing and tonic effects of SC [39,40]. The optimal intake of SC varies. In previous animal experiments, with a positive effect on skeletal muscle and biomarkers seen, a dose of 500 mg/kg (2430 mg/day when converted to 60 kg human) of SC extract supplementation was recommended [41]. However, recently published studies seem to view 1 g/day as the optimal dose. Cho et al. reported that SCs supplementation (1 g/day) can enhance skeletal muscle strength but not mass in older adults who perform low-intensity exercise [42]. In addition, the results of Jang et al. have shown that supplementation with SC (1 g/day) may help to improve QMS and decrease lactate levels in adult women [17]. In a recent study, mice that ingested glycoprotein from SC demonstrated an extended swimming time owing to increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities, greater liver glycogen, and decreased blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content compared to control groups [40]. In addition, according to a recently published study, when SC ingredients were ingested over a long time in chronic fatigue mice, learning and memory abilities partly improved through the regulation of the Nrf2/Keap1/ARE signaling pathway. This study confirmed the interaction of 30 related active compounds and 21 genes through network analysis. Therefore, we suggest that the most prominent benefits of SC intake are improved metabolism, enhanced cognitive abilities, and reduced chronic fatigue.

In conclusion, based on the current results, we suggest that the consumption of SC may have beneficial effects on health. The active compounds of SC may be considered as potential pharmacological candidates through the activation of diverse pathways such as postsynaptic neurotransmitter receptor activity, an intracellular steroid hormone receptor signaling pathway, and endopeptidase activity owing to their synergistic benefits with exercise.