Diosgenin Supplementation Prevents Lipid Accumulation and Induces Skeletal Muscle-Fiber Hypertrophy in Rats.

Diosgenin Supplementation Prevents Lipid Accumulation and Induces Skeletal Muscle-Fiber Hypertrophy in Rats. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2019;65(5):421-429 Authors: Kusano Y, Tsujihara N, Masui H, Shibata T, Uchida K, Takeuchi W Abstract Diosgenin (Dio) is a steroid sapogenin found in plants such as Dioscorea species, and is recognized as a phytochemical against various disorders as well as a natural precursor of steroidal drugs. The present study used rats fed high-cholesterol (Chol) diets supplemented with or without 0.5% Dio for 6 wk to investigate the effects of dietary Dio on lipid metabolism. Dio supplementation significantly increased serum high-density lipoprotein Chol concentrations and fecal Chol content, and significantly decreased fecal bile acid content compared rats fed a high-Chol diet alone, showing that dietary Dio may facilitate excretion of Chol rather than bile acids. A reduction in the liver triglyceride content and intra-abdominal visceral fat was observed in Dio-supplemented rats. Interestingly, dietary Dio also significantly increased the skeletal muscle-fiber diameter and area in the thigh muscles of the rats. Mouse myoblast-derived C2C12 cells were used to examine whether Dio directly affected skeletal muscle. Dio promoted fusion of myoblasts into multinucleated cells or myotubes. Furthermore, in myotube C2C12 cells, protein levels of phosphorylated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) increased with Dio tr...
Source: Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology - Category: Nutrition Tags: J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) Source Type: research