A means to prolong life: only three amino acids
Amino acid supplements to the diet prolong life, scientists sayRIA News
Scientists have shown that the addition of pure amino acids to the diet of adult healthy mice prolongs their life by 12% due to additional energy supply of cardiac and skeletal muscle cells, activation of certain genes and enhanced resistance of the body to free radicals, according to an article by researchers published in the journal Cell Metabolism (Enzo Nisoli et al., Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation Promotes Survival and Supports Cardiac and Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Biogenesis in Middle-Aged Mice – VM).
As a result of taking additional components of the diet, the life expectancy of the experimental group of mice averaged 869 days, whereas mice usually live 774 days on average. The authors believe that a similar supplement to the diet can have a positive effect on people's life expectancy.
We are talking about three essential amino acids with a branched structure of the carbon skeleton of the molecule – leucine, isoleucine and valine. During the experiment, adult mice received amino acids for several months with water provided to them by the authors of the work for drinking. Otherwise, their diet did not differ from the diet of the control group of mice that received standard food and clean water.
"This is the first demonstration that a mixture of amino acids supplementing a standard diet can prolong the life of mice. Similar experiments have been conducted before, but with the participation of more primitive organisms – yeast," said Enzo Nisoli, one of the authors of the article, quoted by the press service of the Cell Press publishing house, which publishes the journal (Amino acid supplement makes mice live longer – VM).
The increase in the life expectancy of animals was accompanied by an increase in the number of mitochondria in the muscles – intracellular organelles that produce energy for cells. In addition, scientists observed additional activation of the SIRT1 gene in an experimental group of mice, the connection of which with the lifespan of organisms has already been shown before.
The scientists also noted the increased endurance of mice and improved coordination of movements, as well as additional activity of the body's system that counteracts free radicals that cause so-called oxidative stress and premature aging.
The authors of the work believe that additional amino acids in the diet can be useful for people, especially the elderly or sick.
"Such food supplements may have a weak effect in the case of young people or athletes who are already in good shape, but as a preventive measure they can bring a lot of benefits, since in the experiment they extended the life of ordinary mature healthy mice," Nizoli said.
Since only male individuals were involved in the experiment, scientists will have to do similar work on female mice.
The authors emphasize that the use of pure amino acids is fundamentally different from the use of products containing these amino acids, since in the second case the body needs to spend a lot of energy on digestion and assimilation of the product.
Pure amino acids are already commercially available to ordinary citizens of many countries.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru06.10.2010