Mitochondrial biogenesis is a key factor, which influences the function of skeletal muscle. Increasingly,
flavonoids are reported to have the potential ability of regulating mitochondrial biogenesis. In this study, we investigated the effects of
tangeretin, a polymethoxylated
flavonoid isolated from mandarin fruits, on mitochondrial biogenesis and its underlying mechanisms. The
tangeretin was obtained from the peel of "Dahongpao" tangerine by macroporous adsorptive resins combined with preparative-high performance liquid chromatography. The activity of mitochondrial biogenesis was explored by using mouse-derived C2C12 myoblasts and Kunming mice. Results showed that the purity of
tangeretin obtained was 98.64%, and it could effectively activate mitochondrial biogenesis signaling pathway both at gene and at
protein levels in C2C12 myoblasts. Animal experiments showed that
tangeretin pretreatment could markedly improve exercise performance (the time of hanging wire and run to
fatigue was obviously increased 1.6-fold and 2.1-fold in the high-dose
tangeretin group, respectively), and the transmission electron microscopy, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry further indicated that
tangeretin increased mitochondria number and activated mitochondrial biogenesis signaling axis. Our findings suggest that
tangeretin enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis via activating the AMPK-PGC1-α pathway, resulting in the improvement of exercise performance, and
tangeretin may be a potentially novel mitochondria regulator in foods.