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Volume 18
Issue 9
10.3390/ph18091243
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Article

ETAS®, a Standardized Extract of Asparagus officinalis Stem, Alleviates Sarcopenia via Regulating Protein Turnover and Mitochondrial Quality

by
Sue-Joan Chang
1,2,*,†,
Yung-Chia Chen
3,4,5,†,
Yun-Ching Chang
6,
Chung-Che Cheng
1 and
Yin-Ching Chan
7
1
Department of Life Sciences, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
2
Marine Biology and Cetacean Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
3
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan
4
Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan
5
Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan
6
School of Medicine, College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 82445, Taiwan
7
Department of Food and Nutrition, Providence University, Taichung 43330, Taiwan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Pharmaceuticals 2025, 18(9), 1243; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph18091243
Submission received: 30 July 2025 / Revised: 19 August 2025 / Accepted: 20 August 2025 / Published: 22 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Discovering Novel Drugs from Plants)
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Abstract

Background: ETAS®, a standardized extract of Asparagus officinalis stem, has been found to alleviate cognitive impairment in senescence-accelerated mice prone 8 (SAMP8) and is now considered a functional food in aging. The present study aimed to investigate the impacts of ETAS® on relieving aging-related muscle atrophy in SAMP8 mice. Methods: The SAMP8 mice were fed a regular diet supplemented with 200 or 1000 mg/kg BW ETAS®50 for 12 weeks. Grip strength, muscle mass, and molecular markers of protein synthesis, degradation, and mitochondrial quality were assessed. Results: We found that ETAS® significantly increased grip strength and muscle mass in SAMP8 mice. At the molecular level, ETAS® significantly upregulated protein synthesis via PI3K/Akt/mTOR/p70S6K and downregulated protein degradation via FoxO1a/atrogin-1 and MuRF-1 and myostatin via NFκB expression. In addition, ETAS® improved mitochondrial quality via promoting mitochondrial biogenesis genes, oxidative respiration genes, fusion/fission genes, PGC1α, and PINK1 proteins and maintained the autophagic flux via reducing ATG13, LC3-II/LC3-I, and p62. Conclusions: ETAS® exerts beneficial effects on sarcopenia by modulating the positive protein turnover and improving mitochondrial quality in aging.
Keywords: Asparagus officinalis; ETAS®; aging; sarcopenia; autophagy; mitochondrial quality Asparagus officinalis; ETAS®; aging; sarcopenia; autophagy; mitochondrial quality
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MDPI and ACS Style

Chang, S.-J.; Chen, Y.-C.; Chang, Y.-C.; Cheng, C.-C.; Chan, Y.-C. ETAS®, a Standardized Extract of Asparagus officinalis Stem, Alleviates Sarcopenia via Regulating Protein Turnover and Mitochondrial Quality. Pharmaceuticals 2025, 18, 1243. https://doi.org/10.3390/ph18091243

AMA Style

Chang S-J, Chen Y-C, Chang Y-C, Cheng C-C, Chan Y-C. ETAS®, a Standardized Extract of Asparagus officinalis Stem, Alleviates Sarcopenia via Regulating Protein Turnover and Mitochondrial Quality. Pharmaceuticals. 2025; 18(9):1243. https://doi.org/10.3390/ph18091243

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chang, Sue-Joan, Yung-Chia Chen, Yun-Ching Chang, Chung-Che Cheng, and Yin-Ching Chan. 2025. "ETAS®, a Standardized Extract of Asparagus officinalis Stem, Alleviates Sarcopenia via Regulating Protein Turnover and Mitochondrial Quality" Pharmaceuticals 18, no. 9: 1243. https://doi.org/10.3390/ph18091243

APA Style

Chang, S.-J., Chen, Y.-C., Chang, Y.-C., Cheng, C.-C., & Chan, Y.-C. (2025). ETAS®, a Standardized Extract of Asparagus officinalis Stem, Alleviates Sarcopenia via Regulating Protein Turnover and Mitochondrial Quality. Pharmaceuticals, 18(9), 1243. https://doi.org/10.3390/ph18091243

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