≈500 mg/day.
Urolithin A (derived from pomegranate polyphenols by the gut microbiota) activates the 'cleanup' of damaged mitochondria (mitophagy), which declines with age. A promising mechanism for aging muscle, with first human data on endurance; evidence still emerging.
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Urolithin A is a postbiotic, a compound that our gut microbes can form from ellagitannins and ellagic acid, polyphenols found in foods such as pomegranates, strawberries, and walnuts; because its production depends on the presence of specific gut microbes, people fall into different metabotypes as good producers, partial producers, or non-producers, and only a minority produce large amounts of urolithin A from diet alone, which makes purified urolithin A supplements the practical way to reproduce the doses used in human studies.
Mechanistically, urolithin A is best known as an inducer of mitophagy, the selective autophagic clearance of damaged mitochondria, which is often followed by mitochondrial renewal and biogenesis; in humans, muscle biopsies after urolithin A administration show higher levels of proteins related to mitophagy and mitochondrial metabolism and improvements in muscle ATP production, and circulating biomarkers of mitochondrial dysfunction such as acylcarnitines and ceramides decrease along with reductions in C-reactive protein.
In older adults with a mean age of 71 years, 1000 mg of urolithin A daily for one month improved muscle endurance and biomarkers of mitochondrial health; in middle-aged adults with low physical fitness, urolithin A supplementation for 4 months produced a 10-12% increase in lower-body muscle strength, a 10-15% increase in peak VO2, and better performance on the 6-minute walk test, even without structured physical training during the study period, suggesting direct muscular effects independent of exercise.
For immunity, a study of 50 healthy adults aged 45-70 years found that 28 days of urolithin A (1000 mg of Mitopure) produced a remodeling of CD8+ T cells: more fresh naive T cells ready to respond, fewer exhausted T cells, higher expression of the cell proliferation marker Ki-67, and reduced TOX, the transcription factor linked to T cell exhaustion; these changes are the opposite of those that typically occur with aging and were not accompanied by greater baseline inflammation, suggesting that urolithin A may strengthen the immune response when needed without creating a chronic inflammatory state.
Information, not medical advice. Scientific evidence reflects the quality of the studies.