Urolithin A Supplements in South Africa: Evidence & Buyer's Guide

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Few longevity compounds have moved from a lab bench to human trials as quickly as urolithin A. In about a decade it has gone from a worm-lifespan study in Nature Medicine to randomised controlled trials in older and middle-aged adults, plus a 2025 immune study in Nature Aging. It has also picked up plenty of hype along the way.

This guide is written for informed consumers and for the functional medicine doctors, nutritionists and longevity clinicians who advise them. It covers what urolithin A is, why many people make little or none of it, what the human research does and doesn't show, the doses that were studied, safety, and a checklist for judging any urolithin A supplement in South Africa. If you're looking to buy urolithin A in South Africa, it should help you compare products on evidence rather than marketing.

Key takeaways

• Urolithin A is made by gut bacteria from ellagitannins, which are polyphenols in pomegranate, walnuts and some berries.
• In one study of 100 healthy adults, only about 40% turned a glass of pomegranate juice into meaningful amounts of urolithin A.
• Human trials have used 500mg and 1,000mg a day for between 4 weeks and 4 months. The results are encouraging but mixed, and most of the research has been funded by the company that makes the main ingredient.

What is urolithin A?

Urolithin A (3,8-dihydroxy-6H-dibenzo[b,d]pyran-6-one) is a postbiotic: a compound your gut microbes make from something in your food, rather than something found ready-made in the food.

It starts with ellagitannins and ellagic acid, polyphenols found in pomegranates, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, walnuts, pecans and oak-aged drinks. Your body absorbs very little of these large molecules. Certain gut bacteria break them down in several steps into smaller, more absorbable urolithins, and urolithin A is the one most widely studied.^{1 2}

So when people talk about the "benefits of pomegranate" for cellular health, they are often really talking about urolithin A, and whether you make any depends on the bacteria in your gut.

Are you a urolithin A "producer"?

This is the most important point for anyone deciding between food and supplements.

Researchers in Spain (CEBAS-CSIC) consistently find that people fall into three urolithin metabotypes after eating ellagitannin-rich foods:²

• Metabotype A produces mainly urolithin A.
• Metabotype B produces urolithin A plus isourolithin A and/or urolithin B.
• Metabotype 0 produces no detectable urolithins.

Across trials, the share of people in each group varied a lot (for example, 5–25% were metabotype 0). The pattern showed up whatever the food source, age or health status. Metabotype B was more common in people with metabolic syndrome or colorectal cancer, conditions linked to an imbalanced gut microbiome.²

A 2022 study measured this directly in 100 healthy adults.³ The results:

• Only 12% had detectable urolithin A in their blood at the start.
• After a glass of pomegranate juice, about 40% converted the precursors into urolithin A to a significant degree.
• Producers had greater gut microbiome diversity than non-producers.
• A 500mg dose of urolithin A, given directly in a food product, produced more than 6 times the exposure that pomegranate juice did.

Practitioner note: producer status is not fixed, and testing for it is not part of routine clinical practice. Research tests exist, but treat any "producer status" test result as exploratory.

Mitophagy, explained simply

Mitochondria are the structures inside your cells that turn food and oxygen into usable energy (ATP). Like any hard-working machinery, they wear out. Mitophagy is how a cell spots damaged mitochondria, breaks them down and recycles the parts, so healthier mitochondria can take over. It is a specialised form of autophagy ("self-eating").

Researchers think mitochondrial quality control becomes less efficient with age. "Impaired autophagy" and "mitochondrial dysfunction" both appear among the published hallmarks of ageing.⁴

Urolithin A became interesting because of a 2016 Nature Medicine paper from EPFL (Lausanne) and Amazentis. It found that urolithin A induced mitophagy in cells and in animals. In the nematode worm C. elegans it extended lifespan, and in rodents it improved exercise capacity.⁵ These were animal results. Worm lifespan does not translate into human lifespan, and good science communication says so.

What do human studies show?

Below are the main randomised human trials, with what they found and what they didn't.

1. First-in-human safety and biomarker trial (Nature Metabolism, 2019)

Andreux and colleagues gave healthy, sedentary older adults single doses and then 4 weeks of daily urolithin A at 500mg or 1,000mg.⁶ The main aim was safety, and urolithin A showed a favourable safety profile. It was bioavailable in the blood at every dose tested. Over 4 weeks it changed plasma acylcarnitines and mitochondrial gene expression in skeletal muscle, which the authors called "a molecular signature of improved mitochondrial and cellular health". These were biomarkers, not functional outcomes.

2. Muscle endurance in older adults (JAMA Network Open, 2022)

In a University of Washington trial, 66 adults aged 65–90 took 1,000mg a day or placebo for 4 months.⁷

• Primary endpoints were not met. The 6-minute walk distance improved in both groups (+60.8 m with urolithin A vs +42.5 m with placebo), and the difference between groups was not statistically significant. Maximal ATP production in muscle also did not differ significantly.
• Secondary endpoints: muscle endurance (contractions until fatigue) in a hand muscle and a leg muscle improved significantly compared with placebo at 2 months. Several plasma acylcarnitines, ceramides and C-reactive protein (CRP) were lower with urolithin A.
• Supplementation was well tolerated, with no difference in adverse events between groups.

3. Strength and exercise performance in middle-aged adults (Cell Reports Medicine, 2022)

The ATLAS trial randomised 88 untrained, overweight adults aged 40–64 to placebo, 500mg or 1,000mg a day for 4 months.⁸

• Primary endpoint (peak power output) was not met.
• Average peak torque in the hamstring muscles rose by 12% (500mg) and 9.8% (1,000mg) compared with placebo. Knee-flexion maximum torque rose by about 10.5–10.6% at both doses.
• The researchers reported clinically meaningful but not statistically significant improvements in peak VO₂ and the 6-minute walk at the higher dose. Plasma acylcarnitines and CRP were lower, and muscle biopsies showed more of the proteins linked to mitophagy and mitochondrial metabolism.

For dosing, this is the most useful study, because it is the only one that compared 500mg and 1,000mg directly.

4. Immune ageing (Nature Aging, 2025)

The MitoImmune trial in Frankfurt gave 50 healthy adults aged 45–70 1,000mg a day or placebo for 28 days.⁹ Compared with placebo, urolithin A:

• increased the proportion of naive-like, less exhausted CD8⁺ T cells (a primary outcome)
• increased the fatty-acid oxidation capacity of CD8⁺ T cells (a co-primary outcome)
• showed signs of mitochondrial biogenesis in CD8⁺ cells and changes in NK cell and monocyte subsets.

The authors are clear about the limits. This was a short pilot study. Several secondary analyses were not corrected for multiple comparisons. And it did not test whether these immune-cell changes lead to real-world outcomes, such as fewer infections or better vaccine responses.

How to read this evidence

• Consistent: good tolerability, reliable absorption, and biomarker changes (acylcarnitines, CRP, mitochondrial proteins) across trials.
• Mixed: functional outcomes. Several pre-specified primary endpoints were not met, while some secondary measures such as hamstring strength and muscle endurance improved.
• Funding: almost all human trials used one branded ingredient (Mitopure®, Amazentis SA), and many were funded or co-authored by the manufacturer. That doesn't invalidate the results, but independent replication is still needed.
• Population: the studies were small (50–100 people), short (up to 4 months) and in healthy adults. We have no long-term outcome data.

For an evidence-literate audience, the fair summary is that urolithin A is one of the better-studied longevity compounds at the biomarker level, with early and still-developing evidence on physical function.

Dosing: what was studied

Study	Population	Daily dose	Duration
Andreux 20196	Older adults	500mg, 1,000mg	4 weeks
Singh 2022 (EJCN)3	Healthy adults	500mg (single exposure vs pomegranate juice)	Acute
Liu 20227	Adults 65–90	1,000mg	4 months
Singh 2022 (ATLAS)8	Adults 40–64	500mg, 1,000mg	4 months
Denk 20259	Adults 45–70	1,000mg	28 days

Two more points from the trials. Andreux 2019 found that food did not change how well urolithin A was absorbed, and in that study blood levels peaked about 6–8 hours after a dose.^{6 10} The 2025 immune trial used softgels of 250mg each.⁹ Results for one formulation do not automatically apply to another (for example, urolithin A capsules from a different source).

Important: always follow the label and don't exceed the recommended daily dose.

Explore Charava Urolithin A 500mg — one vegan capsule a day, R1,499.

Food sources vs supplements

Foods that contain urolithin A precursors (ellagitannins and ellagic acid): pomegranate (fruit and juice), raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, walnuts, pecans, chestnuts, and oak-aged wines and spirits. These foods are worth eating anyway, for fibre and polyphenols and as part of a varied diet.

But foods do not contain urolithin A itself. How much you make depends on your microbiome (see "Are you a producer?"), how much you eat, and gut transit, and it varies widely between people.^{2 3} That variability is the scientific reason for direct supplementation. It is also why anyone comparing a urolithin A supplement in South Africa should check the label lists urolithin A, not just "pomegranate extract".

Safety

• Preclinical: in a published toxicology package, synthetic urolithin A was not genotoxic. In a 90-day rat study, the no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) was the highest dose tested: 3,451 mg/kg body weight a day in males and 3,826 mg/kg a day in females.¹¹
• Human trials: adverse events at 500–1,000mg a day for up to 4 months did not differ meaningfully from placebo.^{6 7 8 9}
• Who should be cautious: the trials did not include children, pregnant or breastfeeding women, or people with significant chronic illness. Anyone on prescription medication or under medical supervision should speak to their doctor or practitioner first. Long-term (multi-year) safety data are not yet available.

How to choose a urolithin A supplement in South Africa

Use this checklist whichever brand you're considering before you buy urolithin A:

1. Urolithin A on the label. The label should state urolithin A and the mg per daily serving, not just a pomegranate or ellagic acid extract.
2. Studied dose. Human trials used 500mg or 1,000mg a day. Be cautious about very low doses described as "clinical strength".
3. Purity and identity testing. Ask for a recent certificate of analysis (CoA) from an independent laboratory, covering identity (for example HPLC), purity percentage, heavy metals, microbiology and residual solvents. Synthetic urolithin A is made by chemical synthesis, so residual solvents and impurities matter.
4. Manufacturing standards. Look for GMP-certified manufacturing and clear batch numbers and best-before dates.
5. Clean formulation. Check the full ingredients list for fillers, flow agents and allergens. Check whether the capsule is vegan if that matters to you.
6. Honest marketing. Be sceptical of "reverses ageing", "boosts mitochondria" or disease claims — they're a red flag for how a brand runs the rest of its business.

Buy urolithin A in South Africa: Charava Urolithin A 500mg

Charava Urolithin A 500mg gives you 500mg of urolithin A in one vegan capsule a day — the lower of the two daily amounts used in the ATLAS trial.⁸ Charava says every batch is tested for quality, purity and potency, and a certificate of analysis from Light Labs, an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratory in the USA, is published on our lab results page.

• Format: vegan capsules, 1 a day (morning suggested)
• Price: R1,499 (VAT included)
• Capsule: hypromellose (veggie capsule); free from gluten, soy and GMOs
• Free delivery across South Africa on orders over R750. Orders ship within 24 hours of payment; Johannesburg orders placed before 12pm aim for next-business-day delivery, and the rest of South Africa 1–3 business days (shipping policy)

View Charava Urolithin A 500mg →

Urolithin A and NMN: how they fit together

Practitioners often ask about combining urolithin A with NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide). They are different compounds that researchers are studying for different parts of cellular biology:

• NMN is a precursor to NAD⁺, a coenzyme the body uses in energy metabolism and many enzyme reactions. NAD⁺ levels have been reported to fall with age.
• Urolithin A is studied for its effects on mitophagy, the clearance and renewal of mitochondria.

Some longevity clinicians think of these as complementary: one relates to a cofactor mitochondria use, the other to keeping mitochondria in good condition. No published human trial has tested NMN and urolithin A together, so any combination is a matter of individual judgement, ideally with a qualified practitioner, not proven synergy. Introduce one supplement at a time so you can tell how you get on with each.

Learn more: NMN explained: what the research shows so far · Charava NMN 500mg · NMN supplements

For practitioners

Charava works with functional medicine doctors, registered nutritionists, dietitians and longevity clinicians across South Africa. If you'd like the full study pack and our ingredient specifications for urolithin A, apply to the Charava Practitioner Partnership →

Frequently asked questions

What is urolithin A?

Urolithin A is a compound made by certain gut bacteria from ellagitannins and ellagic acid, which are polyphenols in foods such as pomegranates, walnuts and berries. It's called a postbiotic because your microbiome produces it rather than it being present in food.

Can I get urolithin A from pomegranate?

Pomegranate gives you the precursors, not urolithin A itself. In one study of 100 healthy adults, about 40% converted pomegranate juice into significant amounts of urolithin A, and only 12% had detectable levels at the start. Food is still worthwhile, but your levels will depend on your gut bacteria.

How much urolithin A was used in studies?

Human trials have used 500mg and 1,000mg a day, for between 4 weeks and 4 months. The only trial to compare both doses found similar changes in leg strength measures at each. Always follow the product label and don't exceed the recommended daily dose.

Where can I buy urolithin A in South Africa?

Charava Urolithin A 500mg is available online at charava.co.za for R1,499, with free delivery across South Africa on orders over R750. Orders ship within 24 hours of payment, and delivery usually takes 1–3 business days. Whichever urolithin A supplement in South Africa you consider, check that the label states urolithin A and the mg per serving, and ask for a certificate of analysis.

Is urolithin A safe?

In human trials of up to four months at 500–1,000mg a day, urolithin A was well tolerated, with adverse events similar to placebo. Long-term data are limited. Speak to a healthcare professional before use if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18, taking medication or under medical supervision.

Can I take urolithin A with NMN?

They are different compounds studied for different processes: NMN as an NAD⁺ precursor, and urolithin A for mitophagy. No published human trial has tested them together, so speak to your practitioner if you're considering combining them.

How long do urolithin A studies last?

Published human trials have run from 28 days to 4 months, measuring biomarkers and muscle function at set time points. Individual experiences vary, and we don't give timescales for personal effects.

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Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. Do not exceed the recommended daily dose. Keep out of the reach of children. Not suitable for anyone under 18, or during pregnancy or breastfeeding unless advised by a doctor. If you take medication or are under medical supervision, consult a healthcare professional before use. This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. It summarises published research and does not make claims about the effects of any product.

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References

1. D'Amico D, Andreux PA, Valdés P, et al. Impact of the natural compound urolithin A on health, disease, and aging. Trends Mol Med. 2021;27(7):687–699. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmed.2021.04.009

2. Tomás-Barberán FA, García-Villalba R, González-Sarrías A, Selma MV, Espín JC. Ellagic acid metabolism by human gut microbiota: consistent observation of three urolithin phenotypes in intervention trials, independent of food source, age, and health status. J Agric Food Chem. 2014;62(28):6535–6538. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf5024615

3. Singh A, D'Amico D, Andreux PA, et al. Direct supplementation with urolithin A overcomes limitations of dietary exposure and gut microbiome variability in healthy adults to achieve consistent levels across the population. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2022;76(2):297–308. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-021-00950-1

4. López-Otín C, Blasco MA, Partridge L, Serrano M, Kroemer G. Hallmarks of aging: an expanding universe. Cell. 2023;186(2):243–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.11.001

5. Ryu D, Mouchiroud L, Andreux PA, et al. Urolithin A induces mitophagy and prolongs lifespan in C. elegans and increases muscle function in rodents. Nat Med. 2016;22(8):879–888. https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.4132

6. Andreux PA, Blanco-Bose W, Ryu D, et al. The mitophagy activator urolithin A is safe and induces a molecular signature of improved mitochondrial and cellular health in humans. Nat Metab. 2019;1(6):595–603. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-019-0073-4

7. Liu S, D'Amico D, Shankland E, et al. Effect of urolithin A supplementation on muscle endurance and mitochondrial health in older adults: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(1):e2144279. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.44279

8. Singh A, D'Amico D, Andreux PA, et al. Urolithin A improves muscle strength, exercise performance, and biomarkers of mitochondrial health in a randomized trial in middle-aged adults. Cell Rep Med. 2022;3(5):100633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100633

9. Denk D, Singh A, Kasler HG, et al. Effect of the mitophagy inducer urolithin A on age-related immune decline: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Nat Aging. Published 31 October 2025 (Author Correction 5 January 2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-025-00996-x

10. Faitg J, D'Amico D, Rinsch C, Singh A. Mitophagy activation by urolithin A to target muscle aging. Calcif Tissue Int. 2024;114(1):53–59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-023-01145-5

11. Heilman J, Andreux P, Tran N, Rinsch C, Blanco-Bose W. Safety assessment of urolithin A, a metabolite produced by the human gut microbiota upon dietary intake of plant derived ellagitannins and ellagic acid. Food Chem Toxicol. 2017;108(Pt A):289–297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2017.07.050