Muscle atrophy is a decrease in muscle size.  Lack of exercise, muscle and joint injury, surgery, extreme dieting and degenerative diseases cause muscle atrophy.  Bodybuilders experience atrophy when they are not training vigorously or when they are cutting for contests.  A review of literature by Scott Powers from the University of Florida and colleagues concluded that reactive oxygen species (ROS) – also known as free radicals – may cause muscle atrophy.  ROS causes cell damage and suppresses protein synthesis, which results in muscle atrophy.

Antioxidants in the mitochondria (powerhouses of the cell) protect against muscle atrophy.  At this point, we cannot identify specific supplements that can protect muscle cells from ROS and prevent muscle atrophy.