This technology utilizes 29-hydroxyprecisiasterone, an ecdysteroid compound identified in Ajuga decumbens, or its salts, as an active ingredient for compositions designed to prevent and treat sarcopenia and muscle atrophy, as well as to promote muscle growth. The same ingredient is formulated for use in pharmaceutical compositions, health functional foods, and animal feed.
Muscle atrophy occurs when muscle protein degradation exceeds synthesis due to aging, prolonged inactivity, or conditions like cancer, diabetes, and sepsis, leading to muscle weakness, increased risk of falls and fractures, and metabolic disorders. While the efficacy of natural products like Coptis chinensis, ginseng, and black ginseng has been reported, Ajuga decumbens was previously used only for anti-inflammatory and bone-healing purposes, with no known effects on inhibiting muscle atrophy or promoting skeletal muscle cell differentiation and hypertrophy.
This technology is based on the finding that this compound increases the expression of mTOR, p70S6K, and the myogenic protein MHC in myotubes, while also increasing myotube diameter and the fusion index. Target conditions include sarcopenia, disuse and denervation-induced muscle atrophy, cachexia, drug-induced and malnutrition-induced atrophy, and muscular dystrophy. Applicable to sarcopenia treatments for the elderly, health supplements for bedridden patients, and functional feed for livestock, this single ingredient derived from an edible plant offers a low-side-effect solution to prevent muscle fiber thinning.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT for the development of methods to identify compound combinations with equivalent efficacy representing the overall activity of natural products.
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