The Health Supplement Urolithin A Improves Muscle Strength in the Elderly

As you get older, your body begins to undergo some changes, and you realize that you find it difficult to continue with some habits which you adopted at your youthful age (especially those that require muscle endurance). The changes you observe are a result of the changes in the reduced functioning of the energy producers of your cells, the mitochondria.

Urolithin A

Mitochondria are cell organelles responsible for the conversion of food into usable energy by your body in the form of ATP. As you age, these organelles gradually become weak and are no longer able to carry out their function as usual. Consequently, less energy is produced, and your muscles which are highly packed with them, do not receive enough energy, hence, muscle endurance is affected. This is a common occurrence in aged people.

A previous study showed that Urolithin A, a postbiotic derived from eating pomegranates, can boost mitochondria to allow for an increase in their functioning. However, not many people have the right microbiome to get enough of these postbiotics from their diet, therefore, the need for its supplement form arose. Thanks to the team at Amazentis for making it available.

Mitopure – the gamechanger

From past research, it has been confirmed that the postbiotic supplement, Mitopure, produced by the pharmaceutical brand, Amazentis, aids in improved muscle strength and endurance by repairing damaged mitochondria in older adults aged 65 to 90 years.

A recent study carried out in London, Ontario, Canada, reveals that the supplement produces the same effect in the middle-aged population of 40 to 64 years. The study involved placing the participants on daily medication of either 500mg or 1000mg of the supplement or placebo for four months. At the end of the fourth month, they tested muscle strength, exercise performance, and other indicators of a healthy mitochondrion in both groups. They observed that the group that received the supplement showed a positive response to these tests when compared to the other group that received the placebos.

According to EPFL professor Johan Auwerx, this study is the first in humans that shows that the repair of mitochondria as aided by Urolithin A, is via mitophagy, and this has many potential applications to provide meaningful physiological benefits.

Clinical significance

This discovery is a vital one in muscle health research. This postbiotic is the first and only compound that is capable of initiating the repair of damaged mitochondria through a biological mechanism called mitophagy, and Mitopure activates this procedure. These findings hold a promising future as it points to an increased lifespan alongside healthy muscles in humans.