Does Ellagic Acid is the same as Urolithin ?
No, it is not the same.
Urolithin B is a metabolite of Ellagic Acid.
Ellagic Acid has multiple useful compounds and components and offers a variety of both sports nutrition and bodybuilding/physique enhancement benefits.
Urolithin B is a specific compound from Ellagic Acid.
It's hard to really compare the two because even through Urolithin B is a component of Ellagic Acid, they are in ways like separate ingredients in terms of results. There is some overlap - but for example, Ellagic Acid is a much better candidate for inclusion in the Cloma-Plex formula whereas if I were going to buy one as a single ingredient item to add to a natural anabolic stack, it would be Urolithin-B.
I asked this same question to Steve of SNS in a dm and this was his answer (I hope it’s not poor form to post a dm, as this particular response isn’t proprietary nor confidential in nature):
"A simple answer would be that Urolithin-B would be more associated with physique and athletic uses whereas ellagic acid would be more associated with general health uses imo."
I wouldn’t mind reading a little more detail about this myself.
As an aside, is there any news on Steve? I was expecting a response from him in conversation, but he seemed to have gone silent suddenly. His last activity here was Friday afternoon.
I'm not upset that you posted it, but my reply was a quick and not detailed one because I was trying to get out the door to take my daughter somewhere, but since we also had another private conversation going, I wanted to reply to that one and I kind of replied to the Ellagic Acid/Urolithin-B question with just a quick answer (and I also thought that you were asking about a comparison in addition to the Ellagic Acid details in the Cloma-Plex write up which is why I didn't mention any of the things in the write up part in my reply).
I had written:
"A simple answer would be that Urolithin-B would be more associated with physique and athletic uses whereas ellagic acid would be more associated with general health uses imo."
^^^ I thought you meant in addition to the information in this thread, how I would paraphrase them in a head to head comparison.
Here is the part about Ellagic Acid from the Cloma-Plex write up for anyone that wants to read it and is following the conversation. I know the product write up is very long so its easy to miss some details:
Ellagic Acid:
Ellagic Acid is a plant derived polyphenol that is naturally occurring and is found primarily in pomegranates but also in strawberries, cranberries, raspberries, and other plants.
Ellagic Acid is a potent antioxidant and has been shown to help reduce inflammation. Ellagic Acid has a wide variety of potential health benefits but for the purpose of this write up, we are going to focus primarily on its estrogen modulating benefits.
Ellagic Acid is unique in that studies have shown that it may possess both aromatase inhibiting (AI) properties and also be a natural selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM).
Ellagic Acid – Aromatase Inhibiting (AI) Properties:
Studies have shown that Ellagic Acid may naturally suppress E2 metabolizing enzymes, the enzymes that are responsible for the creation of estrogen.
Studies have shown that Ellagic Acid may inhibit aromatase, an enzyme that converts androgens to estrogen.
Ellagic Acid – Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM) Properties:
Studies have suggested that Ellagic Acid may be a natural selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM).
Ellagic Acid is thought to influence the activity of estrogen receptors by binding to the receptors sites that often cause gynecomastia.
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Urolithin-B:
From the Urolithin-B XT write up:
https://seriousnutritionsolutions.com/product/urolithin-b-xt/
Urolithin-B is a unique ingredient that has been shown to have both potential anabolic and anti-catabolic properties and can be used to help support increase in lean muscle & strength and optimal muscle recovery.
Urolithin-B XT Highlights/Supports:
- Lean Muscle & Strength
- Optimal Muscle Recovery
- Muscle Protective Benefits
- Anabolic & Anti-Catabolic Properties
- Decreased Muscle Protein Breakdown
- Increased Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS)
- Potential Anti-Estrogenic/Anti-Aromatase Properties
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What is Urolithin-B?
Urolithin B is one of the four metabolites of the Ellagic Acid/Ellagitannins family. It is a type of phenolic compound that is produced in the human gut after absorption of ellagitannin containing foods such as pomegranate, strawberries, red raspberries, walnuts, and/or oak-aged red wine.
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Muscle Protective Benefits:
Since Urolithin B supports muscle growth thru increased protein synthesis and decreased protein breakdown, it is theorized that it may also have a muscular protective effect during times of stress and help reduce muscular atrophy (wasting).
This could be potentially beneficial to helping preserve lean muscle tissue as we get older and also helping to preserve lean muscle while dieting.
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Muscle Protein Synthesis:
The amount of muscle tissue in the human body is regulated in part by the body balancing the rates of muscle synthesis and muscle protein breakdown.
Urolithin B stimulates muscle protein synthesis via mediation of the androgen receptor (AR) pathway.
Animal studies have shown that even low doses of Urolithin B increased the diameter of myotubes.
Research has shown that Urolithin B promotes the development of muscle cells by supporting the increase in protein synthesis and inhibiting the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway
Interestingly, in one rodent study, Urolithin B was shown to support muscle growth and also decrease muscle atrophy (breakdown) in the same subjects.
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Reduces/Decreases Muscle Protein Breakdown:
Urolithin B reduces muscle protein breakdown through supporting the inhibition of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway (UPP), which is a key factor in muscle protein breakdown.
The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway is one of three key pathways of muscle protein breakdown. These pathways are:
- Ubiquitin-proteasome pathway (UPP)
- Calpain pathway (calpain Ca2+-dependent cysteine proteases)
- Autophagy
Muscle protein breakdown is a catabolic state in which muscle cells are broken down into their individual components, providing a source of energy. Basically, any up regulation of the protein breakdown pathways will result in the reduction of muscle mass.
Research has supported that there may be a lower activity of the ubiquitin-proteasome system in myotubes exposed to Urolithin B. These results support that the faster growth of myotubes exposed to Urolithin B is due to a higher protein synthesis as well as reduced activity of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (A major protein breakdown pathway), meaning reduced protein breakdown.
The human body is generally in a constant state of protein turnover and constantly trying to balance between protein synthesis and protein breakdown. A higher synthesis rate as well as a lower breakdown rate will increase the net protein balance of the muscles, increasing growth.
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Anti-Aromatase & Anti-Estrogenic Activity Support Potential:
Urolithin B, like other members of the urolithin family, has been shown to support the inhibition of the aromatase enzyme; a key enzyme that helps prevent testosterone from being converted to estrogen.
I hope that covers everything.