Live longer thanks to a course of amino acids?

Some dietary supplements have an effect on the prolongation of life. This has been demonstrated in mice, but why not imagine such a benefit to humans?

According to a previous study, the longevity would be controlled by our genes. But new work recently shown that diet is also very important. We all know that eating fatty, sugary or salty is bad for our body, promoting cardiovascular disease or diabetes. We also know that fruits and vegetables that contain antioxidants are good advantages against cancer. But within a balanced diet already, adding a certain type of food supplements would, according to an article published in the journal Cell Metabolism, prolong life significantly.

This phenomenon had already been shown in yeast last year. But these single-celled organisms, although less complex than the four-legged animals can not be achieved from heart problems or cancer ... There is always more convincing to confirm the results on a body closer to humans: the mouse. This was done by Italian researchers at the University of Pavia, Milan and Brescia.

Dietary supplements in question are amino acids, the building blocks of our proteins. Among the twenty amino acids, three of them were selected:

valine;
leucine;
isoleucine.

Their common point of being essential amino acids, that is to say they are not synthesized by the body and therefore must be supplied by the diet. Moreover, they are what are called branched chain amino acids (BCAA for branched-chain amino acid) because they have a carbon atom connected to two other carbon atoms in their side chain.

The three branched chain amino acids (BCAAs): leucine, isoleucine and valine (left to right). © DR

The mice in the study were fed a healthy way, using the usual food given to rodents.All mice included in the study were adult males in full health. The comparison was then made between mice drinking normal water daily and those drinking the water in which the trio of amino acids was dissolved (at 1.5 milligrams per gram of body weight per day ).

Extending the life of 12%

The first observation is that mice in fortified food have a median lifespan of 869 days against 774 untreated mice, an increase of 12% of the lifetime. But the researchers wanted to understand the process involved in this phenomenon by analyzing the mice at the molecular level.

They were first noticed an increase in mitochondrial biogenesis (involved in energy production) and the expression of SIRT1 protein (known for his work against aging and Alzheimer's disease) in skeletal muscle and cardiac but not in liver or in adipose tissue. These phenomena were accompanied by improved physical endurance.

Moreover, defense systems against oxidative stress (the way NOS) were also more active, so that the production of dangerous reactive derivatives of oxygen (ROS) was diminished. Genetically modified mice and affected the way in OUR received only very little of a dietary supplement. The anti-aging provided by BCAA is regulated at least in part, through NOS.

According to scientists, the consumption of proteins containing these amino acids is not equivalent to the consumption of amino acids because they can pass directly into the bloodstream without being digested. Treatment based on these three amino acids (already used by some athletes to improve their performance) could be beneficial mainly for elderly people or those suffering from energy shortages. However, this requires a preliminary clinical study on a large scale to highlight potential risks.