Chestnut (Castanea crenata) Inner-Shell Extract Attenuates Barium-Chloride-Induced Injury and Denervation-Induced Atrophy in Skeletal Muscle of Mice.

Background/

Objectives

Chestnut inner shells, traditionally used in Korean and Chinese herbal medicine, contain antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds that contribute to complementary medicine. This study aimed to explore the therapeutic effects of chestnut inner-shell extract (CIE) on skeletal muscle injury and atrophy using both in vivo and in vitro models.

Methods

We used three experimental models representing distinct pathological mechanisms: (1) barium chloride (BaCl2)-induced muscle injury to model acute myofiber damage, (2) sciatic nerve transection to model chronic neurogenic muscle atrophy, and (3) H2O2-treated C2C12 myoblasts to model oxidative-stress-related myogenic impairment. Histological analyses (e.g., hematoxylin and eosin staining and cross-sectional area measurement) and molecular analyses were performed to evaluate the effects of CIE on muscle structure, apoptosis, and oxidative stress.

Results

In the BaCl2 injury model, CIE treatment significantly restored the muscle fiber structure, with muscle protein levels returning to near-normal levels. In the denervation-induced muscle atrophy model, CIE treatment led to a dose-dependent decrease in apoptosis-related factors (especially cleaved caspase-3) and mitigated the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. In the in vitro oxidative stress model, CIE suppressed the expression of NRF2 and HO-1, which are key oxidative stress response regulators.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that CIE may offer therapeutic potential for mitigating skeletal muscle damage, atrophy, and oxidative stress.