Shatavari supplementation in postmenopausal women alters the skeletal muscle proteome and pathways involved in training adaptation.

Purpose: Shatavari is an understudied, widely available herbal supplement. It contains steroidal saponins and phytoestrogens. We previously showed that six weeks of shatavari supplementation improved handgrip strength and increased markers of myosin contractile function. Mechanistic insights into shatavari's actions are limited. Therefore, we performed proteomics on vastus lateralis (VL) samples that remained from our original study.

Methods: In a randomised double-blind trial, women (68.5 ± 6 years) ingested either placebo or shatavari (equivalent to 26,500 mg/d fresh weight) for six weeks. Tandem mass tag global proteomic analysis of VL samples was conducted (N = 7 shatavari, N = 5 placebo). Data were normalized to total peptides and scaled using a reference sample. Data were filtered using a 5% FDR. For each protein, the pre to post supplementation difference was expressed as log2 fold change. Welch's t tests with Benjamini-Hochberg corrections were performed for each protein. Pathway enrichment (PADOG, CAMERA) was interrogated in Reactome (v85).

Results: No individual protein was significantly different between supplementation conditions. Both PADOG and CAMERA indicated that pathways related to (1) Integrin/MAPK signalling, (2) metabolism/insulin secretion; (3) cell proliferation/senescence/DNA repair/cell death; (4) haemostasis/platelets/fibrin; (5) signal transduction; (6) neutrophil degranulation and (7) chemical synapse function were significantly upregulated. CAMERA indicated pathways related to translation/amino acid metabolism, viral infection, and muscle contraction were downregulated.

Conclusion: Our analyses indicate that shatavari may support muscle adaptation responses to exercise. These data provide useful signposts for future investigation of shatavari's utility in conserving and enhancing musculoskeletal function in older age.

Trial Registration: NCT05025917 30/08/21, retrospectively registered.