Natural Component of Apple Peels
Found To Help Prevent Muscle Weakening
The findings reported in the June
issue of Cell Metabolism (a Cell Press publication), identify a natural
component of apple peels known as Ursolic Acid as a promising newnutritional
therapy for the widespread and debilitating condition that affects nearly
everyone at one time or another.
"Muscle wasting is a frequent
companion of illness and aging," explained researchers from The University
of Iowa, Iowa City. "It prolongs hospitalization, delays recoveries and in
some cases prevents people going back home. The research team first looked at
what happens to gene activity in muscles under conditions that promote
weakening. Those studies turned up 63 genes that change in response to fasting
in both people and mice and another 29 that shift their expression in the
muscles of both people who are fasting and those with spinal cord injury. Comparison
of those gene expression signatures to the signatures of cells treated with
more than 1300
bio-active small molecules led them to ursolic acid as a
compound with effects that might counteract those of atrophy.
"Ursolic Acid is an interesting
natural compound," they said. "It's part of a normal diet as a
component of apple peels. The researchers next gave Ursolic Acid to fasted
laboratory subjects. Those experiments showed that ursolic acid could protect
against muscle weakening as predicted. When ursolic acid was added to the food
of normal subjects for a period of weeks, their muscles grew. The subjects
given ursolic acid also became leaner and had lower blood levels of glucose,
cholesterol and triglycerides. The findings therefore suggest that ursolic acid
may be responsible for some of the overall benefits of healthy eating.
"We know if you eat a balanced
diet like mom told us to eat you get this material," the researchers
explained "People who eat junk food don't get this."
Journal Reference:
mRNA Expression Signatures of Human
Skeletal Muscle Atrophy Identify a Natural Compound that Increases Muscle Mass.
Cell Metabolism
