A Swiss biotech company is putting a new longevity supplement to the test, and the latest clinical results are promising.
The oral antioxidant is "an attractive option to alter immune aging," according to researchers at the company Amazentis SA in collaboration with an international team of scientists.
Not only has the supplement been found to be well-tolerated and safe for daily use, a new clinical trial also shows potential benefits for rejuvenating the immune system.
More research is needed to determine the actual health benefits, but initial signs in the blood are optimistic.
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The supplement is based on a natural metabolite called urolithin A (UA), which is produced by gut bacteria after we eat foods like pomegranates, strawberries, raspberries, or certain nuts.
According to some initial evidence in humans, UA may promote mitophagy – a process that removes aged or damaged mitochondria from cells and which may contribute to cellular health.
In animal models, evidence suggests that UA may even prolong lifespan and provide some protection for the aging brain.
These are possibilities that Amazentis SA is banking on. In 2020, the company began marketing a purified form of UA called Mitopure. In 2022, a clinical trial found that older adults taking a daily dose of 500 mg of Mitopure showed significant improvements in muscle strength after four months.
Now, a shorter clinical trial testing Mitopure has found potential benefits for the immune system, too.
The latest trial included 50 healthy, middle-aged adults who were randomly assigned to two groups: one that took 1,000 mg of Mitopure each day and another that took a daily placebo. Neither the participants nor the researchers knew who was taking what.
After four weeks, healthy adults who took the supplement showed measurable changes to immune cells circulating in their bloodstream.
In particular, this group's CD8⁺ T cells – which kill deadly invaders and diseased cells – had a 'younger' metabolic profile than those in the placebo group. What's more, this group's natural killer cells also showed metabolic gains.
It's unclear if these changes persist beyond the four weeks limited by the trial period, or what they mean for a person's ongoing health. But researchers are hopeful that the changes are a sign of improved immune function, which may somewhat "counteract age-related immune decline".
That idea, however, is still theoretical.
Many supplements promise longevity. Mitopure might be one of the rare ones to produce significant results in a clinical trial, but just because the supplement can be associated with biomarker changes doesn't mean it's beneficial for your immune function or your lifespan.
"Whereas our findings provide clear evidence of reduced immune aging features, further studies are required to examine whether these improvements induced by UA translate into clinically tangible benefits," the authors conclude.
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Next up, Mitopure is destined to be evaluated in a clinical trial to see if it complements immunotherapy in cancer patients. That would go some way toward showing a real immune benefit.
The study was published in Nature Aging.