Eriocitrin Contained in Lemon Peel Ameliorates Disuse Muscle Atrophy by Suppressing the Expression of Atrogin-1 and MuRF-1 in Denervated Mice

Unloading stress enhances oxidative stress, which in turn induces disuse muscle atrophy. This study evaluated the suppressive effect of lemon peel extract containing eriocitrin on muscle atrophy. Both lemon peel extract and eriocitrin suppressed weight loss in the gastrocnemius muscle under denervation in C57BL/6 mice. The mRNA level of ubiquitin ligases and their transcription factor were downregulated by eriocitrin. Eriocitrin inhibited the increase in lipid peroxidation and the ratio of glutathione disulfide/glutathione. These data suggest that eriocitrin ameliorated disuse muscle atrophy by suppressing the expression of ubiquitin ligase genes by its antioxidative effect.