Institute of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan.
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, 50006, Taiwan.
Int J Med Sci. 2024 Jan 1;21(1):37-44. doi: 10.7150/ijms.87649. eCollection 2024.
Muscle contusion is an injury to muscle fibers and connective tissues. It commonly happens in impact events, and could result in pain, swelling, and limited range of motion. Diclofenac is one of commonly used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to alleviate pain and inflammation after injury. However, it can potentially cause some side effects including gastrointestinal complications and allergy. Betulin is a lupine-type pentacyclic triterpenoid. It is showed to have valuable pharmacological effects, but the physiological effect of betulin on muscle contusion has not been reported. This study aimed to explore the therapeutic effects of betulin on muscle contusion that produced by the drop-mass method in mice. C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to control (no injury), only drop-mass injury (Injury), diclofenac treatment (Injury+diclofenac), and betulin treatment (Injury+betulin) groups. Injury was executed on the gastrocnemius of the right hind limb, and then phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), diclofenac, or betulin were oral gavage administrated respectively for 7 days. Results revealed that betulin significantly restored motor functions based on locomotor activity assessments, rota-rod test, and footprints analysis. Betulin also attenuated serum creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels after muscle injury. Neutrophil infiltration was alleviated and desmin levels were increased after betulin treatment. Our data demonstrated that betulin attenuated muscle damage, alleviated inflammatory response, improved muscle regeneration, and restored motor functions after muscle contusion. Altogether, betulin may be a potential compound to accelerate the repair of injured muscle.
肌肉挫伤是肌肉纤维和结缔组织的损伤。它通常发生在撞击事件中，可能导致疼痛、肿胀和运动范围受限。双氯芬酸是一种常用的非甾体抗炎药，可缓解损伤后的疼痛和炎症。然而，它可能会引起一些副作用，包括胃肠道并发症和过敏。白桦脂醇是一种羽扇豆型五环三萜。它具有有价值的药理作用，但白桦脂醇对肌肉挫伤的生理作用尚未报道。本研究旨在探讨白桦脂醇对小鼠落体法致肌肉挫伤的治疗作用。C57BL/6 小鼠随机分为对照组（无损伤）、仅落体损伤组（损伤）、双氯芬酸治疗组（损伤+双氯芬酸）和白桦醇治疗组（损伤+白桦醇）。在右后肢小腿肌上进行损伤，然后分别口服给予磷酸缓冲盐水（PBS）、双氯芬酸或白桦醇 7 天。结果表明，白桦醇通过运动活性评估、转棒试验和足迹分析显著恢复运动功能。白桦醇还可减轻肌肉损伤后血清肌酸激酶（CK）和乳酸脱氢酶（LDH）水平。白桦醇治疗后，中性粒细胞浸润减轻，结蛋白水平升高。我们的数据表明，白桦醇可减轻肌肉损伤，减轻炎症反应，促进肌肉再生，恢复肌肉挫伤后的运动功能。总之，白桦醇可能是一种加速受损肌肉修复的潜在化合物。
