What is Urolithin A?
Urolithin A is a naturally occurring metabolite generated by the human gut bacteria when you consume foods or supplements containing ellagitannins or ellagic acid.
Urolithin A 99%, with CAS number as 1143-70-0, is a beige to yellow powder for anti-aging and muscular strength.
Urolithin A Food Sources
According to Wikipedia, Urolithin A is not known to be found in any dietary food source at present. However, you are able to get endogenously Urolithin A by digesting ellagitannins and ellagic acid-rich foods, which are dietary polyphenols found in various fruits and berries, nuts, muscadine grapes, oak-aged wines and spirits, such as pomegranates, blackberries, camu-camu, strawberries, raspberries, walnuts, hazelnuts, acorns, chestnuts, and pecans, etc.
Synthetic Urolithin A VS Natural Urolithin A
As mentioned above, Urolithin A is a gut‐derived bacterial metabolite of ellagitannins(ET) or ellagic acid (EA). If you want to obtain a large quantity of Urolithin A, you have to first eat bulky fruits, and then wait for them to transfer from ellagitannins and ellagic acid to Urolithin A. This process is long, and its purity is low, and most importantly, it will be extremely expensive to do so.
Not everyone has the right microflora that can make the metabolite. In addition, this process can never be applied to mass production in a GMP-compliant manufacturing facility.
The good news is that, as a novel ingredient, Urolithin A is finally commercially available in 2019 from Cima Science. It now can be synthesized in the lab and factory. The synthetic urolithin A is identical in structure to natural urolithin A. The manufacturing capability is up to 2000 kgs or 2 tons/month.
Urolithin A Manufacturing Process
Urolithin A is manufactured via chemical syntheses using one of the two processes described below. Both processes involve an Ullmann coupling reaction, followed by a Lewis acid treatment to yield a highly purified urolithin A product.
The final product is purified by standard means of treatment in solvents, filtered, washed, and dried to obtain pure urolithin A. The product is later subjected to a particle size reduction.
According to well-established processes, Urolithin A powder is synthetically manufactured and purified in several main steps to a highly pure specification of 99%. Raw Materials and processing steps involved in the synthesis of urolithin A include 2-Bromo-5-methoxy benzoic acid, 2-Bromo-5-hydroxy benzoic acid, Resorcinol, 50% sodium hydroxide, Copper sulfate pentahydrate, Methanol, Aluminum chloride, Toluene, DMSO, Methanol, Acetic Acid, and TBME (tert-butyl-methyl ether).
Micronized Urolithin A
The purity of urolithin A is 99% min tested by HPLC Method. Except for regular Urolithin A specification, Micronized Urolithin A powder is also available and carefully designed upon our nutritional supplement brands’ request to provide a better bioavailability.
The specs of the particle size dimensions of micronized Urolithin A are NMT 30um and NMT 20um. And the actual batches are ranging from 3um to 13um. It can be highly customized as per your detailed request.
Urolithin A is stable at room temperature, and no need to store in the refrigerator at low temperature.
Urolithin A mechanism of action
How does Urolithin A work? Ellagic acids and Ellagitannins are Urolithin A precursors.
Ellagitannins are hydrolyzed from the intestine into release Ellagic acid, and this is processed from the gut microflora to urolithins through the increasing loss in 1 of its two lactones successive removal of hydroxyl groups. Once It’s consumed in the intestines, then Urolithin A powder enters the flow System of this intestine.
Mitophagy, according to Wikipedia definition, is the selective degradation of your mitochondria by autophagy. It often occurs to defective mitochondria following damage or stress. However, as we age, Mitophagy function becomes less efficient. Luckily, Urolithin A is approved to stimulate mitophagy in a conserved manner across different species.
Urolithin A Benefits
Human clinical trials show that Urolithin A supplementation is especially beneficial to anti-aging and muscular strength improvement. It may slow down a part of the aging process that’s related to the creation of energy within our cells.
Muscle wellness undergoes a natural drop when you are 30+. Skeletal muscle mass declines along with a reduction in strength. Urolithin A enhances adrenal and muscular function, supplying more energy. It’s a naturally-occurring anti-aging chemical that may benefit anyone seeking to maintain muscle health.
500mg Urolithin A was proven to cause gene expression linked to mitochondrial metabolism and function and boost the potency of the hamstring leg muscle in steps of knee extension and flexion in obese 40 to 65-year-olds. Information from two randomized double-blind human clinical trials.
Urolithin A Safety
Urolithin A is approved by the European Union as a novel food ingredient.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2018 has granted urolithin A its GRAS status used in dietary supplement formula. GRAS means that Urolithin A is generally regarded as safe with a dosage of 500mg to 1 gram per serving.
Urolithin A safety was researched at a series of preclinical and clinical trials, which encourage its health safety for its intended uses. Repeated dosage 28-day and 90-day studies of urolithin A in rats didn’t demonstrate any toxicological impact in some of the parameters measured in any way doses tested.
Supplementation for up to 90 days with urolithin A didn’t lead to any signs of neurological or reproductive toxicities in improved screening periods of repeated-dose studies such as evaluation of spermatogenesis or oestrus cycles, ophthalmoscopic examinations, operational observatory battery display, and motor activity assessments.
Urolithin A clinical trials
A clinical trial in healthy 40 to 65 years old participants revealed that 4 months of daily supplementation of 500mg ultra-pure Urolithin A 99% resulted in substantial progress in leg muscle strength.
A randomized clinical trial conducted in 18-80 years old wholesome adults in the United States made a comparison of Urolithin A levels following supplementation of Urolithin A and pomegranate juice. It revealed that 500mg of Urolithin A delivers larger than 6X greater Urolithin compared to 8oz (240ml) of 100 percent pomegranate juice.
Urolithin A supplements Available
The first nutritional supplement products containing Urolithin A launched in July 2020 under the brand name of Timeline Cellular Nutrition, or Timeline Nutrition for short.
Celltrient Cellular Strength
Nestlé Health Science launched the Celltrient Cellular Nutrition range of supplements and beverages. Celltrient Cellular Strength features the cellular nutrient Mitopure™ Urolithin A (UA) which helps activate the renewal of mitochondria in muscles through a natural process called mitophagy.
Urolithin A Dosage
According to clinical trial data, a recommendation of 500mg Urolithin A 99% daily for 4 months is the best option to boost muscle enhancement and anti-aging benefits. According to Wikipedia, 250mg to 1000mg of Urolithin A per serving is safe.
Urolithin A Side effects
Urolithin A is generally regarded as safe (GRAS) by FDA, and no adverse effects were reported yet.
Where to buy Urolithin A powder in bulk?
Cima Science may be the first manufacture and supplier of Urolithin A bulk powder in China supplying 2000 kilos in powdered form, with purity up to 99% both in regular and micronized powders. Free sample is obtainable upon your detailed company name, quantity, and specification. Technical documents such as the certificate of analysis(COA), MOA, MSDS of Urolithin A are available upon your request.
Urolithin A References:
- Urolithin A Wikipedia Page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urolithin_A
- Application for the approval of Urolithin A as a novel food ingredient in the European Union https://ec.europa.eu/food/sites/food/files/safety/docs/novel-food_sum_ongoing-app_2018-0538.pdf
- GRAS Notices GRN No. 791 Urolithin A https://www.cfsanappsexternal.fda.gov/scripts/fdcc/index.cfm?set=GRASNotices&id=791
- Saha P, Yeoh BS, Singh R, et al. Gut microbiota conversion of dietary ellagic acid into bioactive phytoceutical urolithin A inhibits heme peroxidases. PLoS One. 2016;11:e0156811. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0156811.
