Effects of β-GPA Supplementation on Muscle Mass

Fifty-four 3-week-old female CD-1 [Crl:CD1(ICR)] mice were purchased from Charles River Laboratories. The mice were then randomly divided into nine groups (n = 6) and housed in individual cages. An initial group of mice was euthanized with an overdose of CO₂ and sampled for whole-body, gastrocnemius, soleus, and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) mass. The eight remaining groups of mice were randomly divided into two experimental treatments. Four groups received a standard rodent diet that was supplemented with 2 % (w/w) α-cellulose (control). The other four groups received a standard rodent diet that was supplemented with 2 % (w/w) β-GPA, which is a standard dosage used in previous investigations [3 (link)]. Each cage was fed once daily (20 g/day). One group of control and βGPA-fed mice were sampled after 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks. At each time point, mice were sampled for whole-body, gastrocnemius, soleus, and EDL mass, and tissues were stored at −80 °C until use.