Plant-derived naringenin found to enhance muscle endurance and improve muscle atrophy (Goji Berry extract)

Medical Xpress / Chinese Academy of Sciences / Cell Reports ^ | Nov. 1, 2023 | Liu Jia / Zhenyu Lv et al

[ConservativeMind]

Skeletal muscle plays an extremely important role in supporting movement and energy metabolism. However, its function can be impaired by aging and muscle-related diseases, resulting in decreased endurance or strength of skeletal muscle.

Skeletal muscle function decreases with the increase of age or the development of disease. After the age of 30, muscle mass decreases by about 3%–8% every decade. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a common muscular dystrophy in children, causes proximal muscle weakness and calf hypertrophy, eventually leading to degeneration of skeletal and cardiac muscle. Therefore, healthy skeletal muscle is very important to the body. However, skeletal muscle is still one of the least adequately treated organs with drugs.

Recently, Prof. Chen Chang revealed the new function of naringenin (NAR) to enhance muscle endurance and improve muscle atrophy by activating Sp1-ERRγ transcriptional axis.

Previous studies by Prof. Chen's group showed that Lycium barbarum could improve muscle endurance by increasing oxidative myofiber content and aerobic metabolism, and NAR played a significant role in determining its active components. NAR is a natural plant-derived dihydroflavonoid that has shown effects in metabolic syndrome, inflammation, cancer, and nervous system diseases. However, the direct target of NAR is still unknown, which greatly limits the functional research and application of NAR.

Using 2-month-old young mice, 10-month-old middle-aged mice and mdx mice (DMD disease mice) as models, the researchers found that NAR improved muscle endurance by increasing oxidative myofiber content and aerobic metabolism. During the critical period when the muscle function of middle-aged mice begins to decline, NAR can simultaneously increase skeletal muscle mass and endurance. In the mdx muscle disease model mice, NAR significantly alleviated muscle damage both morphologically and functionally, suggesting its crucial role in alleviating age-related or disease-associated muscle atrophy.

[ConservativeMind]

Lycium barbarum is also known as the common Goji Berry, which has the highest content of zeaxanthin, a key eye retina antioxidant, of any known food in the world.

However, naringenin is only a small component in Goji Berries. Thankfully, it is available in supplement form.

[ConservativeMind]

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