Royal Jelly Delays Motor Functional Impairment During Aging in Genetically Heterogeneous Male Mice

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 10; no. 9; p. 1191
• Main Authors: Okumura, Nobuaki, Toda, Toshihiko, Ozawa, Yusuke, Watanabe, Kenji, Ikuta, Tomoki, Tatefuji, Tomoki, Hashimoto, Ken, Shimizu, Takahiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-09-2018; MDPI
• Subjects: Age; Age Factors; Aging; Aging - drug effects; Aging - genetics; Aging - metabolism; Aging - pathology; Anaphylaxis; Animals; Bees; Cells (biology); Diet; Dietary Supplements; Drug dosages; Enzymes; Epigenetics; Fatty acids; Fatty Acids - pharmacology; Gene Expression Regulation - drug effects; Genetic diversity; Genetic Heterogeneity; genetically heterogeneous mice; Grip strength; Impairment; Longevity - drug effects; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C3H; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Motor Activity - drug effects; Motor Activity - genetics; motor function; Motor Skills - drug effects; muscle atrophy; muscle stemness; Muscle Strength - drug effects; Muscle, Skeletal - drug effects; Muscle, Skeletal - metabolism; Muscle, Skeletal - pathology; Muscle, Skeletal - physiopathology; Muscles; Muscular Atrophy - drug therapy; Muscular Atrophy - metabolism; Muscular Atrophy - pathology; Muscular Atrophy - physiopathology; Musculoskeletal system; Oxidative stress; Proteins; Quality of life; Royal jelly; Sarcopenia; Sex Factors; Stem cells; Japan; aging; motor function; muscle atrophy; genetically heterogeneous mice; muscle stemness; royal jelly
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu10091191

Aging is associated with motor disorders that decrease the quality of life (QOL). Royal jelly (RJ), used as a dietary supplement, has shown various health benefits and, therefore, it has the potential to improve the QOL during aging. We have previously developed protease enzyme-treated RJ to avoid the anaphylactic response induced by RJ supplementation. However, the effects of a lifelong treatment with RJ on normal aging have not been fully clarified. In this study, we investigated the effects of enzyme-untreated RJ (NRJ) and enzyme-treated RJ (ERJ) on the aging process focusing on motor functions, by using a genetically heterogeneous (HET) mouse model experimentally endowed with genetic diversity. We performed four different physical performance tests (grip strength, wire hang, horizontal bar, and rotarod). We showed that the age-related impairment of the motor functions was significantly delayed in RJ-treated mice. Both NRJ and ERJ were similarly effective against these types of aging-associated declines. Histological analyses revealed that the RJ treatment affected the muscle fiber size at an advanced age. We also demonstrated that age-related changes in muscle satellite cell markers and catabolic genes were affected in RJ-treated mice. These results suggest that non-protein components of RJ improved the motor function in aging mice. These findings indicate that RJ has the potential to change the QOL during aging by regulating the motor function.