ArticleJournal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle2025
Melatonin Mitigates Sarcopenic Obesity via Microbiota and Short-Chain Fatty Acids: Evidence From Epidemiologic and In Vivo Studies.
Article in Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- [Efficacy of Transfer Energy Capacitive and Resistive Therapy Combined With β-Hydroxy-β-Methylbutyrate Nutritional Supplementation in Older Adults With Sarcopenic Obesity].Sichuan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Sichuan University. Medical science edition · 2025Trial
- Host metabolism shapes the intestinal microbiota: a top-down paradigm of environmental selection pressure.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Melatonin alleviates airway inflammation and anxiety-depression in asthma via gut microbiota-SCFA axis-mediated inhibition of microglial activation.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Gut Microbiota and Short-Chain Fatty Acids: Key Factors in Pediatric Obesity and Therapeutic Targets.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- The role of exercise-induced short-chain fatty acids in the gut-muscle axis: implications for sarcopenia prevention and therapy.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionGut dysbiosis is closely related to the development of sarcopenic obesity (SO). Melatonin (MLT) regulates gut microbiota and promotes the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). However, whether MLT affects SO through the gut microbiota and SCFAs remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect and mechanism of MLT in SO induced by a high-fat diet (HFD).
methodsFirst, a case-control study was conducted to explore the potential association between serum MLT levels and SO-related parameters in 31 patients. Next, rats fed with a HFD were orally administered with MLT for 16 weeks, and obesity-related metabolic disorders and muscle atrophy were measured. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were used to detect gut microbiota and SCFAs, respectively. Gut barrier integrity was assessed by the expression of the Muc-2 protein and tight junction proteins. Finally, faecal microbiota transplantation and SCFAs administration were performed to confirm the causal role of the gut microbiota and SCFAs in the effect of MLT on SO.
resultsThe serum levels of MLT decreased in patients with SO (29.87 ± 6.71 vs. 24.94 ± 5.68, p < 0.01) and were closely associated with appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (r = 0.3514, p < 0.01) and handgrip strength (r = 0.2824, p < 0.05). MLT ameliorated obesity-related metabolic disorders (p < 0.05), poor muscle mass (p < 0.05), strength (p < 0.05) and function (p < 0.05) and muscle atrophy (p < 0.05) in HFD-fed rats. MLT regulated HFD-induced gut dysbiosis, which was mainly characterized by increases in SCFAs-related bacteria and SCFAs (p < 0.05). MLT recovered HFD-induced impairment of gut barrier integrity by promoting the expression levels of Muc-2, claudin-1, occludin and zonula occluden-1 proteins in the colon (p < 0.05). Correlation analysis showed that SCFAs-related bacteria and SCFAs were negatively associated with SO. Faecal suspension from MLT-treated rats promoted the production of SCFAs in recipient rats (p < 0.05). In addition, faecal suspension from MLT-treated rats partially mitigated metabolic disorders (p < 0.05), poor muscle mass and function (p < 0.05) and muscle atrophy (p < 0.05) in recipient rats. SCFAs treatment alleviated the development of SO in HFD-fed rats by suppressing metabolic disorders (p < 0.05), reducing muscle oxidative stress and inflammation (p < 0.05) and promoting protein synthesis through the AKT/mTOR/p70S6k signalling pathway (p < 0.05).
conclusionsMLT mitigated HFD-induced SO by regulating the gut microbiota and promoting the production of SCFAs. MLT might be a novel strategy for delaying the progression of SO.
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