Pomegranate Extract Prevents Skeletal Muscle of Mice against Wasting Induced by Acute TNF-α Injection
Abstract
SCOPE: We investigated whether punicalagin-rich pomegranate extract (PE) protects skeletal muscle of mice against inflammation induced by an acute injection of TNF-α. RESULTS: Mice fed with PE or standard chow during 6 wk were injected with TNF-α (100 ng/g) or vehicle and sacrificed 6 h later. Prior supplementation with PE prevented the loss of tibialis anterior mass induced by TNF-α. In skeletal muscle, the activation of the NF-κB signaling and the induction of cytokines mRNA were reduced in mice having received PE. In those mice, the activity of the Akt/mTORC1 pathway and the protein synthesis were maintained after TNF-α injection whereas markers involved in the ubiquitin proteasome pathway were less activated. As urolithin A was the only punicalagin metabolite detectable in plasma of mice supplemented with PE, we performed in vitro experiments using a murine cell line (C2C12) to provide evidence that urolithin A is likely the active compound protecting skeletal muscle against TNF-α-induced inflammation. CONCLUSION (FOCUS ON NUTRITIONAL RELEVANCE): These results suggest that supplementation with a punicalagin-rich PE may protect skeletal muscle against an acute inflammation.
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Pomegranate extract prevents muscle mass loss induced by TNF-α injection in C57BL/6 mice, associated with inhibition of oxidative stress, NF-κB, and ubiquitin-proteasome system and activation of Akt/mTOR signaling.
“Pomegranate is rich in a variety of phenolic compounds and its extract prevents muscle mass loss induced by TNF-α injection in C57BL/6 mice. The mechanism is associated with the inhibition of oxidative stress, NF-κB, and the ubiquitin-proteasome system and the activation of Akt/mTOR signaling [93].”
From Nutraceuticals in the Prevention and Treatment of the Muscle Atrophy (2021) · cites this paper as [93]
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- Authors
- Rodriguez, J., Caille, O., Ferreira, D., & Francaux, M.
- Affiliations
- UCLouvain (BE)
- Higher Education Institution Lucia de Brouckère (BE)
- University of Mississippi (US)
- Corresponding author
- Francaux, Marc
- Venue
- Molecular Nutrition & Food Research
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2016-11-30
- Volume
- 61
- Issue
- 4
- ISSN
- 1613-4125 (ISSN-L)
- 1613-4133
- OpenAlex
- W2547597635
- Cited by
- 32
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 2.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Molecular Nutrition & Food Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (58‐6408‐2‐0009)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Pomegranate: compositions and health benefits
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Muscle Physiology and Disorders
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
- Keywords
- pomegranate extract, punicalagin, urolithin A, skeletal muscle atrophy, TNF-α-induced inflammation, NF-κB signaling, protein synthesis, ubiquitin-proteasome system, tibialis anterior, muscle atrophy, dietary supplementation
- MeSH terms
- Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1, Animals, Cell Line, Coumarins, Female, Male, Plant Extracts, RNA, Messenger, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, Signal Transduction, Cytokines, NF-kappa B, Muscle, Skeletal, Lythraceae, Multiprotein Complexes, Hydrolyzable Tannins, Mice, TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
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