A 'miracle ingredient' found in red wine, called reservatrol, has been found to increase the lifespan of worms by up to 60%. Reservatrol is found in plants such as the Japanese knotweed. The findings, from scientists at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, were published in the Nature journal. They think similar results could be seen in humans
It is the perfect excuse to raise a glass to a long and active life.
Scientists from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in France have shown that resveratrol, the ‘miracle ingredient’ in red wine, extends lifespan and provides an infusion of energy.
In this case, worms were the beneficiaries but it is thought that a similar technique could help people live longer.
And with treated worms more energetic, it might be that we can also look forward to sprightly old age.
Researcher Professor Johan Auwerx said: ‘You don’t want to live longer and just sit in front of the television. We want to have active lives.’
The Swiss researchers began by searching for genes involved in the ageing process.
By studying mice that live for different lengths of time, they hit upon three genes whose activity was key to lifespan.
When the genes only worked at half-power, the animals eight months longer, the journal Nature reports.
Professor Auwerx then showed that the genes also regulate longevity in worms.
There the results were even more astonishing – tinkering with the worms’ genes increasing lifespan by up to 80 per cent.
The genes make a protein that, when pumped out in high quantities, cuts lifespan.
With this in mind, Professor Auwerx turned to two widely used antibiotics that block the production of such proteins.
Given to worms, they increased lifespan by an average of 60%.
Importantly, the worms were also more active, had greater endurance and healthier muscles.
This allowed them to continue to wriggle fiercely when untreated worms had become weary.
At 13-days-old, the onset of adulthood, they moved twice as much as others.
And a week later, when the untreated worms were beginning to show their age, the difference was even more pronounced.
A final set of experiments showed that resveratrol, the ‘miracle ingredient’ in red wine uses the same mechanism to extend life.
However, the effect wasn’t as dramatic.
Professor Auwerx, of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, said: ‘This research gives us hope not only for increasing longevity, but also for lengthening the period of adult vitality, and doing this with simple drugs as antibiotics.’
While neither long-term antibiotic use or heavy drinking advisable, the key will be to find a safe drug that is just as effective.
The professor said that it may be that such a pill would only need to be taken during a key period of life, such as puberty.
Should it ever hit the market, he believes ‘everyone will be tempted to take it’.
Other potential ‘fountains of youth’ being researched around the world include a drug that made old mice young again.
And a modern, and it is believed, safer, version of thalidomide has shown promise in boosting the odds of a healthy old age.
Some experts say the science is moving so quickly that it will soon be possible to prevent many of ills of old age.
If lives were healthier as well as longer, people could work for longer – or simply make the most of their retirement.
Increasing the number of years of healthy life would also greatly ease health service costs and reduce the burden on families of caring for sick relatives.
SOURCE: Daily Mail
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