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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Sport and Exercise Nutrition
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1498674

Shatavari Supplementation During Eight Weeks of Resistance Training Increases Training Load, Enhances Skeletal Muscle Contractility and Alters the Skeletal Muscle Proteome in Older Women

Provisionally accepted
Elsa Greed Elsa Greed 1Jack Pritchard Jack Pritchard 2Lauren Rose STRUSZCZAK Lauren Rose STRUSZCZAK 2Esra Bozbaş Esra Bozbaş 2Georgia Ek Georgia Ek 2Jordan Acheson Jordan Acheson 3Ben Winney Ben Winney 2Aaliyah Qadir Aaliyah Qadir 2Ka-Lam Karl Ka-Lam Karl 2Joanna Bowtell Joanna Bowtell 2Mary O'Leary Mary O'Leary 2*
  • 1 University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
  • 2 University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
  • 3 Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, North West England, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Shatavari is a herbal dietary supplement that may increase skeletal muscle strength in younger and older adults. Shatavari contains compounds with both estradiol-like and antioxidant properties, which could enhance muscle function. Postmenopausal women may derive the greatest benefit, as estrogen deficiency adversely impacts skeletal muscle function. However, mechanistic insights are limited and the effects of shatavari on muscle function require further characterization. In this randomised, double-blind trial, 17 young (23 ±5yr) and 22 older (63±5yr) women completed an eight-week leg resistance training programme. They consumed either a placebo or shatavari (1000mg/d, equivalent to 26,500 mg/d fresh weight) supplement throughout. Pre and post training, measures of leg strength, neuromuscular function and vastus lateralis (VL) biopsies were obtained. Tandem-mass-tagged VL proteomic analyses were performed. Data were analysed using a differential expression (Reactome) approach. Shatavari supplementation increased eight-week training load in older women (leg press repetitions completed, p=0.049, ηp 2 = 0.198; maximum weight lifted each week, p=0.03, ηp 2 = 0.386; ANCOVA). There was no effect of shatavari on muscle strength post-training. VL half relaxation time was shortened post-training in older women supplemented with shatavari (post-training change: shatavari -11.74 ± 11.93%, placebo 0.42 ± 14.73%, p=0.021; ANCOVA). Shatavari supplementation diminished the expression of extracellular matrix proteins in both cohorts. Expression of proteins related to striated muscle contraction, transcription and translation were decreased by shatavari supplementation in older women. These novel observations support the notion that shatavari supplementation confers resistance to neuromuscular fatigue in older women. This could ameliorate sarcopenic declines in skeletal muscle function.

    Keywords: Muscle, Skeletal, Exercise, Resistance Training, Proteomics, Aging

    Received: 19 Sep 2024; Accepted: 09 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Greed, Pritchard, STRUSZCZAK, Bozbaş, Ek, Acheson, Winney, Qadir, Karl, Bowtell and O'Leary. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Mary O'Leary, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.