drtbear1967
Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
[h=2]theguerrillachemist[/h]A buddy of mine @ergogenic_health who knows a lot about botanicals and physiology sent me this study which is very interesting. Researchers gave mice Lion’s Mane extract(extracted in either ethanol or hexane) and measured its affect on PPAR delta(peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor) in skeletal muscle. PPAR is a transcription factor that can regulate glucose and lipid metabolism in cells and has been researched as a possible treatment for obesity. Mice were either fed a 5% lions mane water extract, ethanol extract, hexane extract, or as a positive control...GW501516(cardarine). What they found was that the hexane extract(and to a lesser extent the water and ethanol) significantly increased the expression of genes PDK4 and UCP3, both of which are known PPAR delta targeted genes in skeletal muscle tissue.
Compared to GW501516, the increase in expression was about 20%(relative to GW being 100%). PDK4(pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4) is known to regulate glucose and fat metabolism, insulin, and glucocorticoids. It also helps your body switch energy systems from glycolysis to beta-oxidation(more ATP via oxidizing fatty acids). UCP3 is found in skeletal muscle and fat tissue and is an uncoupling protein that plays an important role in fat oxidation and thermogenesis.
It also can improve mitochondrial function. Supplementing with the Lions mane extract for 8 weeks significantly increased muscle endurance capacity compared to the placebo, where the mechanism seems to be preserving glucose utilization during exercise. This is how pharmaceutical PPAR agonists work, as well. Very interesting that a mushroom can work at 20% of a pharmaceutical PPAR agonist, like cardarine. The fact that the hexane extract worked the best implies that the active compounds in Lions Mane must be very fat soluble, similar to the natural fatty acid ligands your body makes to activate PPAR(both alpha and delta subunits). Unlike GW501516, organ weight was actually lower after 8 weeks, which suggests tumors were not growing(spleen, heart, kidneys and liver were all lower in weight post supplementation). Food for thought!
Compared to GW501516, the increase in expression was about 20%(relative to GW being 100%). PDK4(pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4) is known to regulate glucose and fat metabolism, insulin, and glucocorticoids. It also helps your body switch energy systems from glycolysis to beta-oxidation(more ATP via oxidizing fatty acids). UCP3 is found in skeletal muscle and fat tissue and is an uncoupling protein that plays an important role in fat oxidation and thermogenesis.
It also can improve mitochondrial function. Supplementing with the Lions mane extract for 8 weeks significantly increased muscle endurance capacity compared to the placebo, where the mechanism seems to be preserving glucose utilization during exercise. This is how pharmaceutical PPAR agonists work, as well. Very interesting that a mushroom can work at 20% of a pharmaceutical PPAR agonist, like cardarine. The fact that the hexane extract worked the best implies that the active compounds in Lions Mane must be very fat soluble, similar to the natural fatty acid ligands your body makes to activate PPAR(both alpha and delta subunits). Unlike GW501516, organ weight was actually lower after 8 weeks, which suggests tumors were not growing(spleen, heart, kidneys and liver were all lower in weight post supplementation). Food for thought!
