Plant extracts will keep you young
Despite the fact that the ancient Greeks began to search for the "source of youth", the search for the secret of eternal life continues to this day. Experts believe that the ability to slow down the aging process will be the most important medical achievement of our time.
New results obtained by Canadian researchers at Concordia University and the biotechnology company Idunn Technologies indicate that a plant extract containing 6 groups of molecules, currently recognized as the most effective anti-aging factors, can become an important tool for slowing aging.
The authors of the study analyzed the extensive biological library of Idunn Technologies, containing descriptions of more than 10,000 studies, for screening plant extracts that can increase the lifespan of yeast. Yeast was chosen as the object of research due to the similarity of their aging processes with the human aging process.
According to the head of the work, Professor Vladimir Titorenko, a total of six groups of molecules have been identified that can slow down the chronological aging of yeast. This is of great importance not only for the possibility of slowing down the aging process, but also for the prevention of certain diseases associated with aging, including cancer.
The authors note that instead of treating individual diseases, interventions in the molecular processes of aging can simultaneously delay the development and progression of most age-related diseases. It is believed that such interventions will have a much greater effect on the process of healthy aging and life expectancy than can be obtained by treating age-related diseases.
One of the identified groups of molecules providing the most powerful life-prolonging pharmacological intervention is described in the scientific literature as a specific extract of willow bark.
Willow bark was widely used in the time of Hippocrates, when people were advised to chew it to relieve pain and fever. The results of the study showed that it increases the average and maximum chronological lifespan of yeast by 475% and 369%, respectively, i.e. almost 6 and 5 times. This effect significantly exceeds the effects of rapamycin and metformin, two of the most well–known drugs with geroprotective properties.
The researchers note that all six identified extracts are recognized by the Ministry of Health as non-toxic and are currently known for their positive effect on human health. Currently, Idunn Technologies specialists, together with colleagues from four universities, have already started six research programs, within which the influence of identified groups of molecules will be analyzed on animal models of aging, as well as on two models of cancerous tumors.
Article by Vicky Lutchman et al. The discovery of plant extracts that greatly delay yeast chronological aging and have different effects on longevity-defining cellular processes is published in the journal Oncotarget.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on materials from Concordia University: Molecules that may keep you young — and alive.
16.03.2016