A compound produced in the body after eating pomegranates has been found to possess the efficacy of improving heart function by up to 80 percent.
Scientist said the compound possesses the potency to limit heart failure treatment options in experimental models.
For people with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, the heart can still pump blood but struggles to relax and refill properly between beats. In experimental models of this difficult-to-treat condition, a naturally produced compound called urolithin A improved measures of heart function by as much as 80 percent.
Scientists at King’s College London found that urolithin A, which the body produces after people consume foods such as pomegranates, walnuts, and some berries, improved the heart’s ability to relax, reduced scarring, and limited harmful enlargement in experimental models.
The findings could ultimately be relevant to nearly half a million people in the UK who have heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. The condition accounts for about half of all heart failure cases and occurs when the heart retains its pumping ability but becomes too stiff to relax properly between beats, reducing how effectively it fills with blood. Symptoms can include breathlessness, fatigue, difficulty exercising, and poor quality of life.
Treatment options remain relatively limited because the condition can arise from several different factors, including aging, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Since the heart can continue pumping normally while struggling to relax and fill, conventional heart failure treatments are less effective. Clinicians instead concentrate on managing underlying conditions and recommending lifestyle changes such as weight loss and blood sugar control.
Senior author of the study, Dr Joseph Burgoyne of King’s College London said: “This type of heart failure is becoming increasingly common as populations age and rates of obesity and diabetes rise. Despite its growing burden, treatment options remain limited because the disease is complex and varies considerably between patients.”
Urolithin A activates a relaxation pathway
Interest in urolithin A has grown because the compound has been linked to healthy aging and mitochondrial function, the process through which cells generate energy.
The researchers found for the first time that urolithin A activates a protein called PKG1 which contributes to both blood vessel function and relaxation of heart muscle. The compound acts on a specific amino acid within the protein, triggering a pathway associated with cardiovascular benefits.
Animal models given urolithin A showed improvements of up to 80 percent in measures of heart function compared with untreated models. Laboratory testing also found that the compound helped heart tissue relax more effectively and reduced fibrosis, the harmful buildup of scar tissue. It also limited enlargement of heart muscle cells compared with controls, helping preserve normal cellular function.
The researchers then tested urolithin A in engineered human heart tissue made from human stem cells, a laboratory model designed to closely reproduce the structure and function of human heart muscle. Treatment significantly improved relaxation in this tissue, providing additional evidence that the effects could be relevant to human heart function.
Urolithin A has already been evaluated in human studies and has shown a favorable safety profile, unlike many compounds that remain at an earlier experimental stage.
