Canadian researchers have identified plant extracts containing the six best groups of anti-aging molecules ever seen.
In a new study published in the journal Oncotarget, researchers from Concordia and the Quebec-based biotech company Idunn Technologies report that they have uncovered compounds that have been shown to increase the chronical lifespan of yeast and possibly people, too.
For the study, the research team examined more than 10,000 trials to screen for plant extracts that have life-extending properties. The researchers explained that, on a cellular level, aging progresses similarly in both yeast and humans, making it the best cellular model to understand how the anti-aging process takes place in people.
"In total, we found six new groups of molecules that decelerate the chronological aging of yeast," said Vladimir Titorenko, the study's senior author and a professor in the Department of Biology at Concordia. He carried out the study with Concordia students and Éric Simard, the founder of Idunn Technologies, which is named for the goddess of rejuvenation in Norse mythology.
Titorenko said the discovery has signifincant implications not only for slowing the aging process, but also for preventing certain diseases associated with aging, including cancer.
"Rather than focus on curing the individual disease, interventions on the molecular processes of aging can simultaneously delay the onset and progression of most age-related disorders. This kind of intervention is predicted to have a much larger effect on healthy aging and life expectancy than can be attained by treating individual diseases," said Simard, who notes that these new molecules will soon be available in commercial products.
Titorenko added: "These results also provide new insights into mechanisms through which chemicals extracted from certain plants can slow biological aging."
Among the molecules with the most potent longevity-extending pharmacological properties discovered by the researchers: a specific extract of willow bark, which is also the source of an early form of the active ingredient in aspirin.
Willow bark was commonly used during the time of Hippocrates, when it was used to relieve pain and fever. The study showed that it increases the average and maximum chronological lifespan of yeast by 475 percent and 369 percent, respectively.
This represents a much greater effect than rapamycin and metformin, the two best drugs known for their anti-aging effects.
"These six extracts have been recognized as non-toxic by Health Canada, and already exhibit recognized health benefits in humans," said Simard.
"But first, more research must be done. That's why Idunn Technologies is collaborating with four other universities for six research programs, to go beyond yeast, and work with an animal model of aging, as well as two cancer models."
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