Nutrient Cocktail Maintains Youthful Function in Aging

Declining physical movement (bradykinesis) is considered to be a reliable biomarker of aging and risk of death.  David Rollo, from McMaster University (Ontario, Canada), and colleagues formulated a dietary supplement consisting of ingredients such as vitamins B1, C, D, E, acetylsalicylic acid, beta carotene, folic acid, garlic, ginger root, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, green tea extract, magnesium, melatonin, potassium, cod liver oil, and flax seed oil. Multiple ingredients were combined based on their ability to offset five mechanisms involved in ageing.  Feeding the formula to old mice by administering bagel bits soaked in the supplement, the team found that the formula maintained youthful levels of locomotor activity into old age, whereas old mice that were not given the supplement showed a 50% loss in daily movement. In the latter group, the researchers also observed a similar dramatic loss in mitochondrial activity (the cellular furnaces that make our energy), and declines in brain signaling chemicals relevant to locomotion. The team urges that: “results provide proof of principle that complex dietary cocktails can powerfully ameliorate biomarkers of aging and modulate mechanisms considered ultimate goals for aging interventions.”