Apple peel, green tomatoes can slow down aging, study suggests

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Eating fresh fruits and vegetables can help make the body look glowing, healthy and strong because of the antioxidant, nutrients and vitamins in them. Additionally, a new study has discovered that even the peeling of apples and green tomatoes can be beneficial as they are now being considered to aid in the prevention of muscle wasting and the aging process.

The Wall Street Hedge reports that based on the study conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Iowa, they discovered that apple peel and green tomatoes have natural chemical compounds that can help lessen the muscle wasting activity in older adults. These compounds are called ursolic acid, found in apple peel, and tomatidine, found in green tomatoes and they are the ones responsible for targeting ATF4, a protein known to modify the genes of skeletal muscles.

Senior study author Dr. Christopher Adams, a medicine professor from the same university, states that these compounds have a lot of potential to deal with muscle weakening and atrophy once a person ages. He adds that they reduce ATF4 in the muscle, allowing the muscles to reset and recover from all the damages the aging process has done to it.

To test the ability of the compounds, the researchers utilized an old mice with signs of muscle weakness by giving them diet that either contained 0.27 percent ursolic acid or about 0.05 percent tomatidine, according to Medical News Today. The elderly mice received this kind of diet for two months before the researchers evaluated and analyzed their muscle condition.

As a result, the team discovered that mice who have either of the compounds in their diets were able to increase their muscle mass by 10 percent, eventually increasing their strength by 30 percent as well. This is almost similar as to the muscle mass of young mice appear.

Dr. Adams believes that based on the results, these compounds can be added in future nutritional products to help improve muscle mass and strength in older adults.

The researchers believe this study will play an important role in understanding how muscle breakdown process works, Science Recorder writes. Their discovery of the ATF4, ursolic acid, and tomatidine can help further the development of anti-aging treatment that can be beneficial for both elderly, adults and young adults worldwide.

Furthermore, it could aid the researchers in looking for new therapies and making adults active for a longer time.

The study has been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.