New data: WATTS’UP® aids in muscle recovery
An exploratory in vitro study is published in collaboration with the Centre for Healthy Eating and Food Innovation at Maastricht University Campus Venlo, the Netherlands. The aim was to investigate the effect of hesperetin, the active ingredient of WATTS’UP®, on muscle regeneration in the presence of oxidative stress. In other words, this study mimicked the conditions of muscle fatigue after strenuous exercise and explored the benefits of hesperetin on myoblast differentiation and therefore muscle recovery.
WATTS’UP®: micronized hesperidin for sports performance
WATTS’UP® is a clinically validated extract from sweet orange, standardized for >90% highly bioavailable hesperidin. In previous proprietary clinical studies, WATTS’UP® has established its beneficial effects on power output and peak power. Many supplement brands in the EU and US have already included this ingredient in their sports nutrition formulas.
The study: Hesperetin but not ellagic acid increases myosin heavy chain expression and cell fusion in C2C12 myoblasts in the presence of oxidative stress (1).
Introduction
Skeletal muscle mass and function are expected to decline with age, resulting in reduced muscle strength. Muscle stem cells (satellite cells) get activated as a result of strenuous physical activity and muscle trauma. They proliferate and migrate as myoblasts to the injured muscle tissue to repair the myofibers. Normal physiological levels of oxidative stress are needed for the proper function of stem cells, however excessive amounts impair their functionality.
To combat this challenge, a diet or supplements rich in polyphenols could reduce oxidative stress and therefore aid in muscle repair. Such polyphenol is for example hesperidin (active form: hesperetin).
Methods:
Muscle cells were cultured with either hesperetin (sweet orange), ellagic acid (pomegranate) or a combination of both in the absence and in the presence of oxidative stress (menadione sodium bisulfate). More details in the full publication: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1377071/full
Results:
Hesperetin treatment in cells exposed to oxidative stress increased myosin heavy chain expression by 35% compared to oxidative stress alone (p<0.01) after 5 days.
Additionally, Treatment with 20 μM hesperetin in C2C12 cells exposed to oxidative stress increased cell fusion compared to oxidative stress alone(p=0.04) as well as control (p=0.02).
Take Home Message:
Hesperetin enhanced myosin heavy chain expression under oxidative stress conditions and promoted cell fusion both with and without oxidative stress exposure. These findings suggest that hesperetin holds potential as a nutritional strategy in supporting fatigued muscles after strenuous exercise. Enhanced myosin heavy chain expression may translate to direct muscle recovery because it is a key protein in muscle fibers responsible for contraction and force generation. Increased myosin heavy chain expression indicates muscle repair and growth, helping restore strength and function after injury or stress.
Hesperitin is the active ingredient in WATTS’UP®, a sweet orange extract clinically validated to support power output and exercise performance. This new data confirms the potential of WATTS’UP® to increase the value of sports nutrition formulas, especially ones targeting muscles recovery.
