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The team at the University of Copenhagen says a natural metabolite called urolithin A, found in pomegranates, helps clear damaged brain cells. To test this, researchers modeled Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in laboratory mice.
Previous Research Laid the Groundwork for New Discoveries
Earlier, the same team found that a form of vitamin B3, nicotinamide riboside (NR), helps eliminate damaged mitochondria in the brain.
“Many patients with neurodegenerative diseases have mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired mitophagy,” explained Wilhelm Bohr, a biochemist at the University of Copenhagen and the lead author of the study. “That means the brain struggles to remove weak mitochondria, which then accumulate and harm brain function.” He said stimulating mitophagy to remove those weak mitochondria could produce very positive results.
Restoring the function of these “cerebral garbage collectors” allows some of the brain waste linked to Alzheimer’s disease—waste that contributes to amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles—to be cleared away.
In their previous study, the researchers gave mice that model Alzheimer’s NR as a supplement, which reduced protein tangles and DNA damage in the brain. The supplement boosted levels of the crucial metabolic coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+).
What the team found
Now, Bohr and his colleagues found that urolithin A, a compound found in pomegranates, provides a similar boost to the brain. Mice modeling Alzheimer’s that were treated with urolithin A for an extended period showed improved learning, memory, and sense of smell.
Urolithin A reduced production of cathepsin Z, a protein that is overactive in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and contributes to inflammation. Treatment with urolithin A brought cathepsin Z levels down to those seen in healthy brains and restored cellular processes that break down biological waste, Science Alert reported.
Treatment with urolithin A also modulated immune responses and other physiological processes associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Urolithin A is not a cure for Alzheimer’s. But the research showed the metabolite helps the brain clear accumulating molecular waste and may slow the progression of the disease.
“The advantage of working with a natural substance is the lower risk of side effects,” Bohr said. He noted that although the study was done in mice, the results are promising. Clinical trials are needed to determine whether the findings apply to humans.
Bohr added, “We still can’t determine the necessary dosage. But I think one should eat more than one pomegranate a day.” Urolithin A is also found in strawberries and walnuts, and it is available in pharmacies as a dietary supplement.
The results of the study were published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
