Apples and Tomatoes May Help Prevent Aging, Study

Ageing now has new opponents to fight - Apple and green tomatoes. University of Iowa researchers have shown the effectiveness of two newly-discovered compounds found in these fruits that can combat age-related muscle weakness and loss.

Experiments have shown that Apple's ursolic acid and tomatidine, a compound found in green tomatoes, can help skeletal muscle to recover from aging. These compounds succeed by preventing action of a protein that has been found to trigger ageing related muscle weakness and atrophy.

"The protein, ATF4, is a transcription factor that alters gene expression in skeletal muscle, causing reduction of muscle protein synthesis, strength, and mass," a press release from the university stated.

When researchers gave the two compounds to elderly mice, they noticed a 10 percent increase in muscle mass and 30 percent improvement in muscle strength, restoring the muscle to youth levels. Molecular examination of the functioning of the two compounds revealed that they turn off genes that are turned on by ATF4.

"We also thought we might be able to use ursolic acid and tomatidine as tools to find a root cause of muscle weakness and atrophy during aging," study author Christopher Adams said in a statement.

Adams and his team went a step ahead and engineered mice to produce a strain that lacked ATF4 in skeletal muscle. These mice were resistant to effects of ageing in their muscle.

"Many of us know from our own experiences that muscle weakness and atrophy are big problems as we become older," Adams added. The study paves for production of supplements, foods and pharmaceuticals to conserve muscle.