Gromwell (Lithospermum erythrorhizon, LE) can mitigate obesity-induced skeletal muscle atrophy in C2C12 myotubes and high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-skeletal muscle atrophy effects of LE and the underlying molecular mechanism. C2C12 myotubes were pretreated with LE or shikonin, and active component of LE, for 24 h and then treated with 500 μM palmitic acid (PA) for an additional 24 h. Additionally, mice were fed a HFD for 8 weeks to induced obesity, and then fed either the same diet or a version containing 0.25% LE for 10 weeks. LE attenuated PA-induced myotubes atrophy in differentiated C2C12 myotubes. The supplementation of LE to obese mice significantly increased skeletal muscle weight, lean body mass, muscle strength, and exercise performance compared with those in the HFD group. LE supplementation not only suppressed obesity-induced skeletal muscle lipid accumulation, but also downregulated TNF-α and atrophic genes. LE increased protein synthesis in the skeletal muscle via the mTOR pathway. We observed LE induced increase of mitochondrial biogenesis and upregulation of oxidative phosphorylation related genes in the skeletal muscles. Furthermore, LE increased the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1 alpha and the phosphorylation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase. Collectively, LE may be useful in ameliorating the detrimental effects of obesity-induced skeletal muscle atrophy through the increase of protein synthesis and mitochondrial biogenesis of skeletal muscle.
Keywords: Gromwell (Lithospermum erythrorhizon); mitochondrial biogenesis; muscle atrophy; muscle mass; muscle performance; sarcopenic obesity.