Margarita Zueva
A compound produced in the body after eating pomegranates improves heart function by up to 80%, particularly for a type of heart failure with limited treatment options.
Scientists at King’s College London have discovered that urolithin A – a natural compound produced in the body after consuming foods such as pomegranates, walnuts and some berries – improves the heart’s ability to relax, reduces scarring, and prevents harmful enlargement.
The finding may give hope to millions who have a type of heart failure where the heart retains its ability to pump blood but becomes stiff and less able to relax between beats—making it harder to fill with blood.
This is known as “heart failure with preserved ejection fraction” and accounts for around half of all heart failure cases—leading to breathlessness, fatigue, reduced ability to exercise, and an overall poor quality of life.
But it’s hard to treat because it’s driven by many factors—like aging, high blood pressure, and diabetes—and treatments are less effective.
Instead, clinicians focus on managing the underlying conditions and advise lifestyle modifications, such as weight loss and controlling blood sugar.
Urolithin A has attracted growing interest in recent years because of its links to healthy aging and mitochondrial function, a process in the body which generates energy.
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In a research first, the scientists discovered that urolithin A activates a protein called PKGlα, which plays an important role in both blood vessel function and heart muscle relaxation. Urolithin A targets a specific amino acid on the protein, activating a pathway resulting in cardiovascular benefits.
Treatments with urolithin A led to improved measures of heart function by up to 80% in animal models, compared to models that were not treated with urolithin A.
The laboratory experiment revealed that urolithin A increased the heart tissue’s ability to relax and reduced harmful scarring, also known as fibrosis, compared to controls. The compound also reduced enlargement of heart muscle cells compared to controls, helping to preserve normal cell function.
The researchers also tested urolithin A in engineered human heart tissue created from human stem cells. This is a cutting-edge laboratory model that closely mimics the structure and function of human heart muscle. Urolithin A significantly improved tissue relaxation in these cells, suggesting the findings could translate to human cardiac function.
Unlike many experimental compounds, urolithin A has already been evaluated in human studies and shows to have a favorable safety profile.
The study identifies both a promising new drug target and a naturally derived compound that could help address a significant challenge in cardiovascular medicine.
“This raises the exciting possibility of developing new treatments that improve clinical outcomes and quality of life for people living with the condition,” said Dr Joseph Burgoyne, senior author of the study, King’s College London.
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“While there isn’t enough evidence to suggest that people should eat pomegranates to treat heart failure, these findings raise the possibility that dietary approaches that enhance urolithin A production may help alleviate this condition.”
Learn more about the study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, at King’s College London.
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