There’s nothing seedy about this superfood.
A silent yet deadly epidemic is sweeping the nation, with the number of Americans living with heart failure expected to nearly double from 6.7 million in 2024 to 11.4 million by 2050.
While widely known for its antioxidant properties, one popular fruit could also hold the key to improving a particular type of heart failure millions live with.
Called the “mitochondria makeover pill” for its ability to make people feel younger, urolithin A is a hot commodity for healthy aging, yet only about 40% of people can efficiently produce it.
The postbiotic (what’s left over after gut bacteria digest food) is made after eating foods like walnuts, berries and pomegranates, a famous superfood and the most well-known ancient fruit native to Iran.
The fruit’s anti-aging effects spurred researchers from King’s College London to further investigate what role urolithin A might play in heart health.
Namely, they looked into treating heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, where the heart still pumps blood but struggles to relax and properly fill.
In both animals and engineered human heart tissue, the compound significantly improved relaxation while also reducing scarring and limiting harmful enlargement of the heart.
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is often difficult to treat due to several factors, including aging, high blood pressure and diabetes, contributing to it.
Researchers found that urolithin A activates a protein called PKGlα, which promotes relaxation of blood vessels and the heart muscle.
In animal models, a urolithin A treatment improved measures of heart function by as much as 80%.
The compound also significantly improved heart function in human heart tissue engineered from stem cells, suggesting the effects in animal hearts could translate to humans.
While more research is needed to determine the full effects, the results suggest a promising solution from a naturally derived compound that’s already known to have a favorable safety profile in humans.
The findings of the research also pave the way for new treatments for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.
This increasingly difficult-to-treat condition that affects about 3 million people in the US and 32 million globally.
“Despite its growing burden, treatment options remain limited because the disease is complex and varies considerably between patients,” senior study author Dr. Joseph Burgoyne said in a press release.
And because the heart still pumps blood as it should, traditional heart failure treatments are ineffective, prompting doctors to focus on managing underlying conditions or lifestyle changes, like weight loss, instead.
Although there isn’t enough evidence that only eating pomegranates will cure heart failure, Burgoyne suggests that the findings “raise the possibility that dietary approaches that enhance urolithin A production may help alleviate this condition.”
Additional clinical trials in humans will be necessary to test if the approach is effective, while eating a healthy, balanced diet remains one of the best ways to attain a healthy heart.
