(-) - Epicatechin improves Tibialis anterior muscle repair in CD1 mice with BaCl2-induced damage.

Several studies have shown the beneficial effect that Epicatechin (Epi) has on the skeletal muscle of murine models and patients with muscular dystrophy and in the muscles of patients with diabetes or murine sarcopenia models. This flavanol has been shown to enhance antioxidant pathways and improve muscle architecture. However, the repair process during muscle regeneration has not been analyzed. To address this, we characterize the effect of Epi in the repair process of the Tibialis anterior in a murine model with BaCl2-induced damage. CD1 mice of 10 weeks of age were randomly selected and injured with BaCl2. One hour later, they were divided into four groups (n=6 for histology groups and n=12 for western blot groups). Epi was administered every 12h, until the time of sacrifice. Histological and morphological analysis showed that Epi significantly reduced the area of damage and hypertrophy at 15 days in the damaged muscle. Furthermore, western blot assays showed that the treatment increases ß-catenin (active) and myogenic proteins such as MyoD and Myogenin. These results show that Epi exerts therapeutic effects accelerating skeletal muscle repair after induced damage chemically, thus highlighting the therapeutic potential of this flavanol in different myopathies.

Epicatechin treatment generates resilience to chronic mild stress-induced depression in a murine model.

Several studies have proposed that cocoa products-enriched in flavonoids reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms. (-)-Epicatechin (Epi), a flavonoid present in high concentration in cocoa, has been associated with many dark chocolate effects and has been postulated as an exercise mimetic. Physical exercise is used as an adjuvant treatment for many depressive patients. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of Epi on resilience in depression-like behavior in a murine model. Male mice were randomly selected and divided into four groups (n = 8/group). Beginning at the age of 8-9 weeks, the mice were subjected to Chronic Mild Stress (CMS) and/or treatment Epi for five weeks. Epi was administered by oral gavage twice daily/5 weeks. The control group was housed in conditions without stress and Epi treatment. Depressive behavior was evaluated by sucrose preference and open field tests. Interestingly, Epi reduced anhedonia and anxiogenic behavior in the murine stress model. These results suggest that Epi induces resilience to stress-induced depression. Furthermore, our findings propose that muscles respond to Epi treatment according to their type of metabolism and that kynurenine aminotransferases (KATs) could play a role in modulating this response.