Ursolic Acid

Most of you know that I am a big fan of apples as a fruit choice, especially before workouts.

Not just because they are a great slow-digesting carb source, but because they contain polyphenols that have been shown in research studies to boost muscle strength, endurance, and fat loss – especially fat from the abs. And they have even been shown to help fight cancer.

For more on apples pre-workout, watch my M&F Raw 2.0 video here:

Researchers from Nippon Sport Science University in Tokyo had male rats consume either apple polyphenols for three weeks or a placebo. They measured the rats' body weight, body fat, muscle force (strength) of the gastrocnemius (calf muscle), and muscle fatigue of the gastroc before and after the three-week trial. They reported in a 2007 issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise that the rats given apple polyphenols had a slightly lower body weight and almost 30% less body fat than the rats given the placebo.

The also found that the rats given the apple polyphenols gained almost 100% more muscle strength in their gastroc, and were significantly less prone to muscle fatigue than the rats given the placebo.

Another Japanese study, from the University of Arts and Sciences study had 71 obese male and female subjects consume 600 mg of apple polyphenols per day or placebo for six weeks. They measured the subjects' total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol, bodyweight and abdominal fat before and after the 12-week study. They reported in a 2007 issue of the Journal of Oleo Science that subjects supplementing with apple polyphenols for just 3 weeks had significant reductions in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, body weight and abdominal fat as compared to the subjects consuming a placebo. The rat study discovered that apple polyphenols decrease body fat by increasing the activity of genes that increase fat burning and decrease fat production and storage in the body. Although they did not determine why apple polyphenols increased muscle strength and decreased muscle fatigue they speculated that the increase use of fat for energy may have enhanced the fatigue resistance of the muscle, while the ability of apple polyphenols to decrease oxidative damage to muscle may have led to the increase in muscle strength.

The latest research shows that one of the polyphenols in apples (mainly found in the peel), ursolic acid may be responsible for a good deal of these beneficial properties.

University of Iowa researchers fed mice a diet supplemented with ursolic acid for 5 weeks and found that those getting the ursolic acid gained 15% more muscle mass while simultaneously losing more body fat than those eating a diet without additional ursolic acid.

Plus, the mice getting the ursolic acid were much stronger than the mice not getting extra ursolic acid. It appears that ursolic acid works to boost muscle growth and strength by increasing insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels in muscle cells. This is one of the growth factors that I have studied extensively in the lab. It is critical for stimulating muscle growth.

Other research has shown that ursolic acid may also reduce the amount of testosterone that is converted into estrogen in the body, leaving you with higher test levels. And it may also reduce cortisol levels, which further promoted the anabolic actions of testosterone.

Jim's take-home message:

So when it comes to selecting pre-workout fruit, you may want to stick with my advice to go with an apple. You may even want to consider taking an ursolic acid supplement before workouts. Go with about 250-1500 mg before workouts. Currently, ursolic acid supplements are tough to find. One product out there is Epharm's Ursobolic. My prediction is that soon you will see more pre-workout products including ursolic acid in them. Until then, the pre-workout apple is the easiest way to take advantage of this phytonutrient's benefits.

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