According to the study researchers from the University of Iowa, they have found a protein, ATF4, during the study which causes muscle weakness and loss during ageing. It starves muscles of the proteins they need to remain strong.
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If taken regularly, elderly population can see results in two months, researchers from University of Iowa said.
The compound, ursolic acid, is one of two newly discovered natural substances – the other, tomatidine, is found in green tomatoes – that researchers say could be used to treat the loss of muscle that occurs with age, Medical News Today reports.
Elderly mice with muscle weakness and atrophy were fed diets lacking or containing either 0.27 percent ursolic acid or 0.05 percent tomatidine for two months.
The protein was identified as ATF4, which triggers a gene response that sets off the whole process. The findings, which were published online September 3 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, could lead to new therapies for age-related muscle weakness and atrophy. The scientists found that both compounds increased muscle mass by 10 percent, and more importantly, increased muscle quality, or strength, by 30 percent. These changes mean that the muscles were so repaired that they nearly resembled the muscle quality that young adult mice have. To test this, the researchers engineered mice that lacked ATF4 and found their muscles were resistant to the effects of aging, similar to mice treated with ursolic acid or tomatidine. What this means is that if an individual does not have the ATF4 protein in their skeletal muscle, they will see no benefit from these compounds.
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Further exploration into the study revealed that the genes controlled by the transcription factor ATF4 were turned off by the compounds from the fruits. A biotechnology company that collaborated with the team on the study – Emmyon, Inc. – is now looking at the possibility of incorporating ursolic acid and tomatidine into foods, supplements and drugs.
