Soy peptide hydrolysate and loaded swimming in rats
N. Pozdnyakov, M. Molchanov, T. Ponomareva, V. Rykov, A. Lukin, S. Shilov, M. Timchenko, E. Sogorin · 2026 · Discover Food. 6:79
Published 2026-01-12.
Related evidence maps: Sports performance ↗
Reported findings and study design
Soy hydrolysate group mean swimming time rose from 91 to 404 seconds. The reported +511% averages individual percentage changes; the change calculated from the two group means is about +344%.
30 outbred male Wistar rats initially randomized, 10 per group; hydrolyzed soy, whey protein or amino-acid mixture
Dose, route and schedule
10 g/kg of the protein–carbohydrate mixture (10 mL/kg enteral) 30 minutes before each test. Swim load 5% of body mass, water 25±1°C, three times weekly for four weeks. D0 was before feeding; day labels refer to swim-test sessions.
Protocol source ↗ · Publisher full PDF (16 pages), methods, Fig. 1, results and analysis limits
| Measure | Result | Comparison, timing and statistics |
|---|---|---|
| Soy hydrolysate · absolute swim time | 91 → 404 s (+313 s) | Baseline to session 11; group means. Approximate group-mean change: +344%. |
| Soy hydrolysate · individual relative change | +511% mean individual change | Each animal’s result was divided by its own baseline before averaging. Low baselines can inflate relative changes. |
| Whey and amino-acid comparators | Whey and soy reached within-group significance at session 7; amino acids at session 11 | Paired Wilcoxon comparisons with each group’s own baseline; not evidence that the groups differed at those times. · p<0.05 in marked paired comparisons |
| Metabolomics | More than 50 serum metabolites quantified; 19 proteinogenic amino acids | The endurance response did not track higher circulating proteinogenic amino acids. NMR sampling was after the swim series, with no simultaneous physical load. |
| Attrition and safety | 4 of 30 animals died or were euthanized; daily analysis n varied | One esophageal injury during administration, one stroke during swimming, two unexplained deaths. Individual time points could also be excluded for refusing to swim or vest loss. |
| Final plotted sample | Whey n=9; soy hydrolysate n=8; amino acids n=8 | Supplement Table 5, session 11; counts differ from initial randomization. |
Supplement Table 5 · counts for the plotted swimming tests
| Session | Whey | Soy hydrolysate | Amino-acid mixture |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| 2 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| 3 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| 4 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| 5 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| 11 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
Sample sizes for the supplementary relative swim-time plots. Initial allocation was 10 per group; analysis counts vary with losses and exclusions.
The result supports testing what food-derived hydrolysates do in this model. The molecular-mass resemblance to PPK-V is a comparison of size only, not evidence of shared molecules, signaling, or human endurance benefit.
Source for the extracted data ↗ · Checked 2026-11-08
Molekul summary of the linked publication. Educational information, not medical advice. Seek qualified healthcare help for medical conditions.
Methods, limitations & source review
Study limitations
- Four of 30 animals died or were euthanized during the study. The paper reports an esophageal feeding injury, a stroke during swimming and two unexplained deaths; do not attribute causation to soy.
- Repeated exercise and changing sample counts complicate comparisons. Significant within-arm tests are not between-arm superiority tests.
- Whey was used because intact soy could not be delivered in the same mixture; this is not a hydrolyzed-versus-intact-soy comparison.
Publication counts are not counts of independent trials. Reviews, translations and reports sharing participants may overlap. Findings apply to the studied preparation, population and endpoints.
Document format: Publisher full PDF (16 pages), methods, Fig. 1, results and analysis limits
Review depth: Reported methods, results and evidence limitations
Source access and review scope
Publisher full PDF (16 pages), methods, Fig. 1, results and analysis limits
Recorded source-check date: 2026-11-08. This date does not imply a completed systematic review.
Source type: Original journal article
Citation and original source
Original source: N. Pozdnyakov, M. Molchanov, T. Ponomareva, V. Rykov, A. Lukin, S. Shilov, M. Timchenko, E. Sogorin. Soy peptide hydrolysate and loaded swimming in rats Discover Food. 6:79 2026.
Molekul research summary: https://molekul.io/research/soy-hydrolysate-loaded-swim-2026. Cite the original publication for its findings and this page when referring to Molekul’s summary or evidence appraisal.
Bibliography entry