Replies to post #202531 on Biotech Values

[ronpopeil]

i love pomegranates but they are so messy. my fingers are usually stained for a week and i have to eat them with either tarp around my neck or without a shirt :)

[hptaxis]

Pomegranates Reveal Its Powerful Anti-Aging Secret

Ryu D, Mouchiroud L, Andreux PA, et al. Urolithin A induces mitophagy and prolongs lifespan in C. elegans and increases muscle function in rodents. Nat Med;advance online publication. http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nm.4132.html

The biological effects of urolithins remain poorly characterized, despite wide-spread human exposure via the dietary consumption of their metabolic precursors, the ellagitannins, which are found in the pomegranate fruit, as well as in nuts and berries.

We identified urolithin A (UA) as a first-in-class natural compound that induces mitophagy both in vitro and in vivo following oral consumption. In C. elegans, UA prevented the accumulation of dysfunctional mitochondria with age and extended lifespan.

Likewise, UA prolonged normal activity during aging in C. elegans, including mobility and pharyngeal pumping, while maintaining mitochondrial respiratory capacity.

These effects translated to rodents, where UA improved exercise capacity in two different mouse models of age-related decline of muscle function, as well as in young rats.

Our findings highlight the health benefits of urolithin A and its potential application in strategies to improve mitochondrial and muscle function.


Add Osteocalcin and off to some [Mouse] World Records ...

Mera P, Laue K, Ferron M, et al. Osteocalcin Signaling in Myofibers Is Necessary and Sufficient for Optimum Adaptation to Exercise. Cell Metabolism 2016;23(6):1078-92. http://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/abstract/S1550-4131(16)30222-4

Circulating levels of undercarboxylated and bioactive osteocalcin double during aerobic exercise at the time levels of insulin decrease.

In contrast, circulating levels of osteocalcin plummet early during adulthood in mice, monkeys, and humans of both genders.

Exploring these observations revealed that osteocalcin signaling in myofibers is necessary for adaptation to exercise by favoring uptake and catabolism of glucose and fatty acids, the main nutrients of myofibers.

Osteocalcin signaling in myofibers also accounts for most of the exercise-induced release of interleukin-6, a myokine that promotes adaptation to exercise in part by driving the generation of bioactive osteocalcin.

We further show that exogenous osteocalcin is sufficient to enhance the exercise capacity of young mice and to restore to 15-month-old mice the exercise capacity of 3-month-old mice.

This study uncovers a bone-to-muscle feedforward endocrine axis that favors adaptation to exercise and can reverse the age-induced decline in exercise capacity.

[biomaven0]

>>Pomegranates:

I view the pomegranate as the fruit equivalent of those biotech companies that are basically science experiments masquerading as for-profit companies.

There are well over 1,000 PubMed articles relating to pomegranates.

Pomegranates contain maybe 50 or more different families of phytochemical compounds, some of which are largely specific to that fruit. Each of those compounds typically has a bunch (like half-a-dozen) chemical variants relating to added sugar chains and the like. Each variant has unique absorption and PK and each interacts differently with different gut microbiota, which metabolize them in different ways. Different varieties and growing conditions produce a different collection of compounds. The seeds, the juice, the pulp and the skin all have different properties.

So bottom line is that it's pretty close to impossible to study the effects of ingesting pomegranate properly. Just too many variables and not enough money. But pomegranates are indeed a great source of mostly useless publications.