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Can pomegranates help improve memory and alleviate symptoms of Alzheimer's disease?
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative brain disorder that primarily affects people over 65 years of age and is the leading cause of dementia among older adults.
Research suggests that the Mediterranean and MIND diets may protect against Alzheimer's disease, possibly due to lower intake of inflammatory saturated fats and sugars, and higher intake of vitamins, minerals, omega-3s, and antioxidants.
Because Alzheimer's disease is associated with increased oxidative stress, increasing your intake of antioxidants may be particularly beneficial. Antioxidants counteract free radical damage, possibly mitigating the effects of the disease.
A recent study published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia looked at urolithin A, a natural compound produced by gut bacteria when they process certain polyphenolic compounds found in pomegranates.
Urolithin A has powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as other potential benefits for brain health.
The researchers treated various mouse models of Alzheimer's disease with urolithin A for 5 months to assess the long-term effects on brain health.
The results showed that urolithin A could improve learning and memory, reduce neuroinflammation, and enhance cellular clearance processes in mice with Alzheimer's disease.
Although animal studies cannot be directly translated to humans, experts believe that urolithin A may have potential as a future preventative or therapeutic agent against Alzheimer's disease.
Urolithin A shows promising results in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark conducted a study to understand the benefits of long-term treatment with urolithin A in Alzheimer's disease.
Using three mouse models of Alzheimer's disease, they combined urolithin A treatment with behavioral, electrophysiological, biochemical, and bioinformatics experiments.
After five months of treatment with urolithin A, they observed improvements in memory, protein accumulation, cellular waste processing, and DNA damage in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's disease.
Additionally, important markers of brain inflammation were reduced, making the treated mice look more like healthy mice.
The study found that treatment with urolithin A reduced the overactivity of microglia, a type of immune cell in the brain.
The researchers also suggested that urolithin A:
- reduces cathepsin Z, which is elevated in Alzheimer's disease and may be a target for Alzheimer's treatment
- Reduces amyloid beta protein levels and inflammation associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease
- promotes mitophagy, the cleansing of damaged mitochondria, which is reduced in Alzheimer's disease
The mitophagy effects of urolithin A may be similar to those seen with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) supplementation in Alzheimer's disease.
Taken together, [the results] imply that [urolithin A] may act as a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent, helping to clear [amyloid beta], which prevents the occurrence of cognitive impairment associated with pathological [amyloid beta accumulation], and regulates cellular energy homeostasis and cell death.
In other words, urolithin A may have multiple mechanisms of action that contribute to its beneficial effects on the brain.
In particular, urolithin A may help protect against cognitive decline by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, and by promoting the removal of harmful proteins and damaged mitochondria from the brain.
While the study provides important insights into the potential benefits of urolithin A for Alzheimer's disease, its limitations include the use of animal models and a narrow focus on specific pathways, possibly overlooking broader systemic interactions. However, its strengths lie in its thorough assessment of multiple pathological mechanisms and the investigation of long-term treatment effects, significantly advancing our understanding of the therapeutic role of urolithin A in Alzheimer's disease.
Urolithin A treatment has potential as a novel intervention in Alzheimer's disease by targeting multiple pathological mechanisms such as neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, lysosomal dysfunction and DNA damage, which may slow disease progression.