Pomegranate is a fruit prized by many health benefits.
It contains ellagitannins, molecules that are converted into a compound called urolithin A in the human gut.
In a study from Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, researchers found that urolithin A could help slow down muscle aging in the human body.
The findings are published in the journal Nature Metabolism. The lead author of the study is Pénélope A. Andreux.
Previous research has shown that muscles begin to lose strength and mass once a person reaches the age of 50.
The researchers found that the compound urolithin A could slow down muscle aging by improving the functioning of the cells’ powerhouses.
In addition, ingesting the compound poses no risk to human health.
The researchers tested 60 older people who were sedentary yet in good health.
These people were then split into four groups, each receiving a placebo or a 250, 500 or 1,000 mg daily dose of UA for 28 days.
The team examined the participants’ blood and muscle tissue and found that the compound could improve the cells’ powerhouses in the same way as regular exercise.
In addition, there were no side effects when compared with the control group, who were given a placebo.
The team explains that urolithin A is the only known compound that could rebuild cells’ ability to recycle defective powerhouses.
This process happens naturally in young people, but it is gone in older people.
This can lead to loss of skeletal muscle mass and weakening of other tissues.
The new finding may provide a new, practical way to help people delay muscle aging.
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