Muscle Wasting

Muscle wasting is a debilitating condition characterised by progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, largely due to ageing, sedentary lifestyle and poor diet, drug induced wasting, cancer, physical fatigue etc. It affects millions worldwide, raising the rate of mortality, coincident cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, metabolic syndrome amongst others(1). Analysis of Global Burden of Disease (2019) by the World Health Organisation indicated that nearly two billion people are living with various musculoskeletal conditions, and can be rehabilitated(2). The current armamentarium of pharmacological solutions for muscle wasting are still in experimental stages and include interventions such as hormone therapy (testosterone), antibodies and small molecules, nutritional supplements (vitamin D3) and exercise regimes(3). Traditional and complementary medicine, especially herbal interventions, hold immense promise to contribute to current healthcare systems and provide sustainable pharmacological solutions, catering to SDG 3 - Good Health and Well Being, for all. There exists a vast amount of literature reporting various herbal extracts and phytocompounds thereof for experimentally demonstrated benefits in various models of skeletal muscle wasting, without any finding success clinically.

About PDMD

Plants' Database for Muscle-wasting Diseases (PDMD), is a database of experimentally validated medicinal plants' extracts and phytocompounds thereof, that have shown beneficial results in various models of muscle wasting. PDMD covers more than 200 medicinal plants, and provides information on taxonomic classification, local names, geographical distribution, respective phytocompounds if known responsible for beneficial action in muscle health, cross referenced with PubChem ID, phytochemical classification and basic chemoinformatic information, model organism/system in which benefit is demonstrated, documented anti-inflammatory/anti-oxidant action, and cross reference with PubMed id of original study. PDMD stands out as being a dedicated database for medicinal plants potentially beneficial in muscle wasting diseases.

References

1.Ali S, Garcia JM. Sarcopenia, cachexia and aging: diagnosis, mechanisms and therapeutic options - a mini-review. Gerontology. 2014;60(4):294-305. doi: 10.1159/000356760. Epub 2014 Apr 8. PMID: 24731978; PMCID: PMC4112511.

2. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/musculoskeletal-conditions

3.Ebner N, Sliziuk V, Scherbakov N, Sandek A. Muscle wasting in ageing and chronic illness. ESC Heart Fail. 2015 Jun;2(2):58-68. doi: 10.1002/ehf2.12033. PMID: 28834653; PMCID: PMC6410534.