Abstract

Urolithin A (UA) is produced by gut microflora from foods rich in ellagitannins. UA has been shown to improve mitochondrial health preclinically and in humans. Not everyone has a microbiome capable of producing UA, making supplementation with UA an appealing strategy.
This is the first detailed investigation of the prevalence of UA producers in a healthy population and the ability of direct UA supplementation to overcome both microbiome and dietary variability. Dietary intake of a glass of pomegranate juice (PJ) was used to assess UA producer status (n = 100 participants) and to characterize differences in gut microbiome
between UA producers from non-producers.

Advanced nutrition approaches that allow the delivery of a nutritional bioactive such as UA in a calibrated manner will likely play a key role in filling the gap created by the natural heterogeneity of the gut microbiome to deliver health benefits.