Nutraceuticals in the Prevention and Treatment of the Muscle Atrophy

Abstract

Imbalance of protein homeostasis, with excessive protein degradation compared with protein synthesis, leads to the development of muscle atrophy resulting in a decrease in muscle mass and consequent muscle weakness and disability. Potential triggers of muscle atrophy include inflammation, malnutrition, aging, cancer, and an unhealthy lifestyle such as sedentariness and high fat diet. Nutraceuticals with preventive and therapeutic effects against muscle atrophy have recently received increasing attention since they are potentially more suitable for long-term use. The implementation of nutraceutical intervention might aid in the development and design of precision medicine strategies to reduce the burden of muscle atrophy. In this review, we will summarize the current knowledge on the importance of nutraceuticals in the prevention of skeletal muscle mass loss and recovery of muscle function. We also highlight the cellular and molecular mechanisms of these nutraceuticals and their possible pharmacological use, which is of great importance for the prevention and treatment of muscle atrophy.

Keywords: molecular mechanisms; muscle atrophy; nutraceutical; phytochemical; protein synthesis/degradation.

Figure 1

Cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating muscle growth and atrophy. Akt, Protein kinase B; FFAs, Free fatty acids; FoxO, Forkhead box O; IGF-1, Insulin-like growth factor 1; MAFbx, Muscle atrophy F-box; MHC, Myosin heavy chain; mTOR, Mammalian target of rapamycin; MuRF1, Muscle RING-finger protein-1; MyoD, Myogenic differentiation antigen; NF-κB, Nuclear factor kappa-B; PI3K, Phosphoinositide 3-kinase; P70S6K, Ribosomal protein S6 kinase; ROS, Reactive oxygen species; 4E-BP1, Rapamycin complex and 4E binding protein-1.