Coventry University study reveals how a natural antioxidant could help reduce muscle decline linked to obesity

Coventry University researchers have discovered that resveratrol, a natural antioxidant, may help combat muscle weakness caused by a high-fat diet.

Resveratrol is found in foods like red grapes and peanuts and is already known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits but findings by the university’s Research Centre for Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Sciences (PASES) offer the first clear evidence of its potential to preserve muscle strength and performance, even when under metabolic stress from a high-fat diet.

Using advanced techniques developed at PASES, researchers examined the effects of resveratrol on mice fed a high-fat diet over 12 weeks, with some of the mice receiving resveratrol as a daily supplement.

Mice that received the supplement showed significantly greater muscle power than those without, despite being on the same diet. In some cases, their muscle function resembled that of animals fed a standard, healthier diet, suggesting resveratrol may offer a protective effect from high-fat diets.

Resveratrol had the strongest effect on muscles used for quick, powerful movements, which are the most affected by high-fat diets. The potential for applying this discovery to human trials offers new opportunities to tackle the obesity pandemic which is now affecting approximately one billion people. Maintaining muscle health offers life-changing benefits to society including disease prevention, quality of life and increased mobility.

The research, which has now been published in the Journal of Physiology, forms part of the PASES team’s ten-year commitment to exploring how dietary factors affect muscle performance.

Find out more about the Research Centre for Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Sciences.