Scientists at King’s College London have discovered that urolithin A—a natural compound produced in the body after consuming foods like pomegranates, walnuts and some berries—improves the heart’s ability to relax, reduces scarring and prevents harmful enlargement of the heart. The study will be published in Science Advances.

The finding could give hope to nearly half a million people in the UK who have a type of heart failure in which the heart retains its ability to pump blood but becomes stiff and less able to relax between beats, making it harder to fill with blood. This is known as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and accounts for around half of all heart failure cases. The condition can lead to breathlessness, fatigue, reduced ability to exercise and an overall poor quality of life.