Myostat Effective in Athletes?

[Guest guest]

I received this via a supplement stores e-list.

Comments?

----------

Testosterone magazine:

NEW STUDY PROVES MYOSTAT™ (CSP-3)

Increases Hypertrophy 50% in Humans!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 12.19.02

A previous study revealed that CSP-3 (an array of sulfated

polysaccharides extracted from Cystoseira canariensis) was able to

bind the myostatin protein in vitro. Given that myostatin is a

negative regulator of muscle growth, if the same myostatin binding

effect occurs in vivo (in the body), it was theorized that CSP-3

could increase muscle-protein synthesis and muscle growth.

A more recent placebo controlled, double-blind study was conducted at

the Olympic Wrestling Training Center (Zakir Ramazanov, PhD, Musa

Abidov, MD, Jimenez del Rio, PhD. Russia 2002) to examine the

effects of orally administered CSP-3 on muscle-protein synthetic rate

and lean mass in competitive, elite athletes.

Results

After 60 days of supplementation, subjects in the CSP-3 group (n=9)

gained three times more lean mass (13.67 lb versus 4.4 lb) than

subjects in the placebo group (n=9). This threefold greater gain in

fat-free mass was statistically significant and was supported by

changes in muscle-protein synthetic rate. Specifically, CSP-3

stimulated muscle-protein synthesis 50% more than the placebo. These

data indicate that CSP-3 has a significant pharmacological effect on

skeletal muscle.

Study Using Olympic-Level Athletes

Eighteen (n=18) competitive, Olympic wrestlers were randomly divided

into two groups. Thirty days prior to beginning the clinical study,

subjects underwent a period of diet counseling and surveillance.

Additionally, subjects were asked to maintain their physical-training

program throughout the trial. There was no significant difference in

the body mass index of subjects in the two groups. Dietary intake

(total calories and macronutrient profiles) did not change during the

course of the study.

Twice daily, subjects were required to consume either 500 mg of CSP-3

or a placebo. Subjects had not consumed any dietary supplements or

medications for more than four months prior to the study. At baseline

and after 60 days of CSP-3 or placebo administration, body

composition and mixed-muscle protein synthesis rates were evaluated.

Baseline protein synthesis rate assessments were made 24 hours before

the clinical study began.

On days 0 and 60 of the study, samples of muscle tissue were taken

for evaluation of protein synthesis. Food-record analysis and body-

mass index were also included at the laboratory intervention times.

Body weight was measured with a standard beam scale and the

percentage of body fat was estimated from body density derived from

underwater weighing.

Various sterile solutions of a leucine isotope (C13L) were prepared

and infused overnight to measure the fractional rate of incorporation

of C13L into mixed-muscle protein at baseline and at the end of the

60th day of the supplementation period. The rate of muscle-protein

synthesis was measured in serial, muscle-biopsy samples during a

continuous infusion of C13L in both groups at baseline and after 60

days of supplementation.

The biopsies were taken at a depth of 2-3 cm at about one-third of

the distance from the upper margin of the patella to the anterior

superior iliac spine. After local skin anesthesia, incisions through

the skin and the muscle fascia were made (one on each leg) while

subjects rested in the supine position. Biopsies from both legs were

combined and analyzed for protein synthesis rates. Mixed-muscle

proteins in the biopsy sample were separated and hydrolyzed. Muscle

was homogenized in 10% trichloroacetic acid, and proteins were

hydrolyzed for 24 hours at 110°C. The formation of n-acetyl-n-propyl

ester of leucine and muscle C13L enrichment was measured using gas

chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry.

Conclusion

Even though the results of this study may seem surprising, critical

analysis of the available scientific data indicates that sulfated

polysaccharides possess a variety of important pharmacological and

physiological activities in vivo. Scientific literature clearly

indicates that sulfated polysaccharides are physiologically active

compounds that participate in the regulation of various cellular

processes, including myostatin-binding properties that might open a

new dimension in muscle-growth research.

Sulfated polysaccharides are crucial for vital reactions in the body

because of their ability to bind various proteins. Aside from the

positive effects on muscle mass we observed in athletes supplemented

with sulfated polysaccharides isolated from Cystoseira canariensis,

these compounds may also prove to be beneficial in the development of

drugs to combat certain muscular-related diseases.

Additional human studies are planned to further determine the

hypertrophic effects of CSP-3.

Courtesy of Testosterone Magazine 2002

----------

Kolasinski

Sunnyvale,CA