The decline in skeletal muscle mass and strength, also called sarcopenia, accelerates with age, leading to negative health outcomes and poor quality of life. Diet is important to promote health and plays a key role in muscle aging. Plant-based foods have recently received attention as sources of phytochemical components to attenuate loss of muscle mass and strength in older adults. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the benefits of botanical extracts and their phytochemical compounds for muscle health in older adults. Randomized controlled trials were identified via systematic searches of four electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and KoreaMed) up to June 2021 and were quality assessed. The results of muscle strength, mass, and physical performance were pooled using a random-effects model. Fourteen studies involving 528 subjects aged between 50 and 80 years met the inclusion criteria. Dietary phytochemicals significantly increased handgrip strength [0.90 kg; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.26–1.53, p = 0.01] and physical performance (timed up-and-go test: − 0.5 s, 2.73 times; 95% CI − 0.84 to − 0.15, p < 0.01; 30-s chair stand test: 95% CI 0.88–4.59, p < 0.01; 6-min walk test: 29.36 m; 95% CI 14.58–44.13, p < 0.0001) but had no effect on improvement in muscle mass. Publication bias evaluated by funnel plots and Egger’s regression test demonstrated no evidence of substantial publication bias (p > 0.05). The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that phytochemicals are a potential nutritional strategy to improve muscle health in older adults.

中文翻译：

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膳食植物化学物质作为一种有前途的肌肉减少症营养策略：随机对照试验的系统评价和荟萃分析

骨骼肌质量和力量的下降，也称为肌肉减少症，随着年龄的增长而加速，导致不良的健康结果和生活质量下降。饮食对于促进健康很重要，并且在肌肉老化中起着关键作用。植物性食物最近作为植物化学成分的来源受到关注，以减轻老年人肌肉质量和力量的损失。这项系统评价和荟萃分析评估了植物提取物及其植物化学化合物对老年人肌肉健康的益处。随机对照试验是通过系统搜索四个电子数据库（PubMed、Cochrane 图书馆、Web of Science 和 KoreaMed）确定的，截至 2021 年 6 月，并进行了质量评估。使用随机效应模型汇总肌肉力量、质量和身体表现的结果。涉及 528 名年龄在 50 至 80 岁之间的受试者的 14 项研究符合纳入标准。膳食植物化学物质显着增加了握力 [0.90 kg; 95% 置信区间 (CI) 0.26–1.53, p = 0.01] 和身体表现（定时起跳测试：- 0.5 s，2.73 次；95% CI - 0.84 至 - 0.15，p < 0.01；30-s椅子站立试验：95% CI 0.88–4.59，p < 0.01；6 分钟步行试验：29.36 m；95% CI 14.58–44.13，p < 0.0001）但对肌肉质量的改善没有影响。通过漏斗图和 Egger 回归测试评估的发表偏倚没有证明存在实质性发表偏倚的证据 (p > 0.05)。本系统评价和荟萃分析的结果表明，植物化学物质是改善老年人肌肉健康的潜在营养策略。