Urolitin A improves muscle strength, exercise performance, and biomarkers of mitochondrial health in a randomized trial in middle-aged adults

Det här är studien som lade grunden för evidensen om urolitin A hos människor. Den genomfördes av Amazentis, företaget bakom Mitopure, med akademiska medförfattare, däribland Johan Auwerx vid EPFL, och registrerades som NCT03464500. Middle-aged adults received urolithin A (postbiotic Mitopure) at two doses for four months in a randomised, placebokontrollerad design. Results: muscle strength improved roughly 12 percent with urolithin A, a clinically meaningful effect size for this population. Aerobic endurance (peak VO2) and physical performance (6-minute walk test) also improved meaningfully. However, peak power output, the trial's stated primär endpoint, did not show significant improvement, which the paper reports plainly rather than reframing around the secondary endpoints that did succeed. Plasma acylcarnitines and C-reactive protein, markers linked to mitochondrial efficiency and inflammation, were significantly lower with urolithin A. Skeletal muscle biopsies showed increased expression of proteins linked to mitophagy and mitochondrial metabolism, giving a plausible mechanism (activation of mitophagy, the recycling of damaged mitochondria) behind the functional results. This remains the single strongest RCT in the commercial longevity-supplement category, and ATLAS 2 (NCT07231783 / ISRCTN47159002) is the ongoing attempt to confirm it in a larger, longer trial.

This study highlights the benefit of Urolitin A to improve muscle performance in middle-aged adults through activation of mitophagy and related biomarkers of mitochondrial health.