ISSN: 1449-1907International Journal of Medical Sciences
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Int J Med Sci 2024; 21(1):37-44. doi:10.7150/ijms.87649 This issue Cite
Research Paper
Betulin Accelerated the Functional Recovery of Injured Muscle in a Mouse Model of Muscle Contusion
1. Institute of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan.
2. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, 50006, Taiwan.
3. Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Laboratory, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, 50006, Taiwan.
4. Department of Post-Baccalaureate Medicine, College of Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan.
5. Department of Kinesiology, Health and Leisure Studies, Chien Kuo Technology University, Changhua, 50094, Taiwan.
6. Department of Law, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan.
*These authors contributed equally to this work.
Abstract
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.
Keywords: betulin, drop-mass injury, functional recovery, muscle contusion
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