(-)-Epicatechin Attenuates Degradation of Mouse Oxidative Muscle Following Hindlimb Suspension.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a 14-day hindlimb suspension (HS) with and without (-)-epicatechin supplementation to determine whether (-)-epicatechin treatment can attenuate the loss in muscle degradation, angiogenesis, and mitochondrial signaling in oxidative skeletal muscle. Adult mice were randomized into 3 groups: (a) control (C); (b) HS with vehicle (HS-V); and (c) HS with (-)-epicatechin (HS-(-)-Epi). Animals in the HS-(-)-Epi group received (-)-epicatechin (1.0 mg · kg(-1) of body mass) twice daily through oral gavage. For markers related to muscle degradation, the HS-V group had significantly higher protein expression compared with the control and HS-(-)-Epi groups. Moreover, protein expression for myosin heavy chain type I was significantly reduced by approximately 45% in the HS-V group compared with the control and HS-(-)-Epi groups. In addition, capillarity contact and capillary-to-fiber ratio were significantly higher in the HS-(-)-Epi group compared with the HS-V group. Furthermore, protein expression for thrombospondin-1 was significantly higher in HS-V group compared with the control and HS-(-)-Epi groups. Hindlimb suspension also significantly reduced protein expression for mitochondrial signaling compared with the control and HS-(-)-Epi groups. These findings suggest that (-)-epicatechin supplementation attenuates degradation in oxidative muscles after HS.