Salix alba, more commonly known as white willow bark, is the most potent aging-delaying pharmacological intervention yet described. | Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Montreal researchers clear a major hurdle in the fight for longevity
Hearing loss, brittle bones, sagging skin, a deteriorating mind: these are just some of the issues associated with growing old. For millennia, humans have fought the process of aging using everything from fountains of youth to pricey face creams, all to no avail. But a group of Montreal-based researchers is coming ever closer to achieving healthy longevity — armed with the power of science.
In a study recently published in Oncotarget, researchers from Concordia University and Idunn Technologies assess how six previously identified plant extracts can delay aging by affecting different signaling pathways that set the pace of growing old.
Vladimir Titorenko is a biology professor and the study’s senior author. He says that the potential of using these plant extracts for delaying the onset of age-related diseases is underscored by the fact that Health Canada classifies them as safe for human consumption. Five of them are recommended by the federal department as health-improving supplements with clinically proven benefits.
In the study, Titorenko and his co-authors confirmed that one extract is particularly effective: Salix alba, more commonly known as white willow bark, is the most potent aging-delaying pharmacological intervention yet described.
To make this identification, the researchers used yeast to test the effectiveness of the plant extracts. But why yeast? That’s because, at a cellular level, aging progresses similarly in yeast and humans. In both, the pace of aging is defined by a distinct set of chemical reactions arranged into several cascades. These cascades, which scientists call “signalling pathways,” regulate the rate of aging in a wide range of organisms.
Using yeast — the best cellular aging model — Titorenko and his colleagues monitored how the information flowing through each of these signalling pathways was affected by each of the six aging-delaying plant extracts.
“It’s known that some of these signalling pathways delay aging if activated in response to certain nutrients or hormones,” he says. “These pathways are called ‘anti-aging’ or ‘pro-longevity’ pathways. Other signalling pathways speed up aging if activated in response to certain other nutrients or hormones. These pathways are called ’pro-aging’ or ‘pro-death’ pathways.”
Co-author Éric Simard, CEO of Idunn Technologies, explains that each of the six aging-delaying plant extracts targets a different anti-aging or pro-aging signalling pathway.
It is especially noteworthy that this study revealed the following features of the six plant extracts as potential tools in decelerating chronic symptoms and diseases of old age:
- They imitate the aging-delaying effects of the caloric restriction diet in yeast
- They slow yeast aging by eliciting a mild stress response
- They extend yeast longevity more efficiently than any lifespan-prolonging chemical compound yet described
- They delay aging through signalling pathways implicated in age-related diseases
- One of them delays aging via a previously unknown pathway
- They extend longevity and delay the onset of age-related diseases in organisms other than yeast
“This study is an important step forward for science because these signaling pathways could eventually delay the onset and progression of chronic diseases associated with human aging,” says Simard, who has recently published a new book on the topic.
“These diseases include arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, liver dysfunction, stroke, neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases, and many forms of cancer.”
Learn more: 6 new groups of molecules could be the key to delaying aging
The Latest on: Delaying aging
via Google News
The Latest on: Delaying aging
- Program Report: The Economics of Agingon July 5, 2022 at 4:15 am
When the NBER’s Program on the Economics of Aging began in 1986 under the direction of David Wise, the baby-boom generation was between the ages of 22 and 40. Long-run projections at the time forecast ...
- China Turns to Automation and Robotics to Solve Aging Problemon July 4, 2022 at 4:30 am
The impact of an aging population has taken a toll on China’s economy. Industrial automation and robotics could be the solution. We believe that China is at the beginning of a structural shift thanks ...
- Ports of LA, Long Beach delay cargo fee againon July 1, 2022 at 9:43 pm
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach once again delayed implementing a fee on companies whose import containers linger at marine terminals, even as the backlog worsened again over the last week.
- The Perils of Slow Vote-Counting and Delayed Election Resultson July 1, 2022 at 4:00 pm
Slow vote counts were the bane of the 2020 elections, inviting bogus fraud charges. But they’re not going away anytime soon.
- LA, Long Beach Ports Again Delay Fines for Idling Containerson July 1, 2022 at 2:29 pm
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach Friday postponed again the implementation of a fee on companies whose import containers linger at marine terminals, with the assessment now potentially taking ...
- FDA-Approved Drug Reduces Blood Vessel Problems Caused by Agingon June 30, 2022 at 12:22 pm
The study shows that the medication stopped the constriction and stiffening of the blood vessels According to new research published in GeroScience by the University of Missouri School of Medicine, an ...
- Canadian navy to be without new support ships until at least 2025 due to production delayon June 30, 2022 at 11:42 am
The new delivery schedule is now six years later than originally anticipated and it also means the navy will have been without a permanent supply ship for a full decade.
- Federal government reports another delay in delivery of new support ships for Canadian navyon June 30, 2022 at 7:54 am
The new delay means Canada will need to rely on a civilian ship and the goodwill of allies to resupply its naval fleet for the foreseeable future ...
- A Week At The Most Secretive Conference On Agingon June 29, 2022 at 7:06 am
One of the most prestigious scientific conference series is the Gordon Research Conference (GRC). This is where prominent academics come to share their research openly but it is not possible to take ...
via Bing News