By Carissa Wong.
The grapes have their seeds cut open.
Kholywood is pictured.
A chemical isolated from grape seed extract prolongs the lifespans of old mice by clearing out their old, worn-out cells. The treatment seems to make the mice more fit and reduce the size of tumours when used with chemotherapy to treat cancer.
The finding strengthens the case for future anti-aging therapies that target senescent cells, which lose their ability to replicate and cause inflammation.
There is a secret to old-age health.
As we get older,escent cells increase in number and have been linked to various age related conditions.
To find a substance that might destroy these cells, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences screened a library of chemicals for their effects against senescent cells. The team found a chemical called procyanidin C1 in grape seeds.
The senescent cells in the dish were prevented from producing inflammatory substances. The cells were killed by the chemical at high concentrations.
To test its effectiveness in living animals, the team injected 171 mice that were 2 years old, equivalent to 70 in human years, with either PCC1 or a control solution twice a week for the rest of the animals' lives. The lifespan of mice was increased by 9 per cent.
Anti-aging drugs are coming that could keep you healthier for longer.
The chemical seems to improve the physical fitness of younger mice. Animals under the age of 2 years were injected with either a control solution or PCC1 every two weeks for four months, after which they underwent a range of physical tests. The mice that received the treatment had a faster walking speed, stronger grip strength and better endurance when running on a treadmill than the mice that had been given the control solution.
Chemotherapy can accelerate the aging of cells. To find out if the chemical could kill the aged cancer cells, the team tested it with a drug used to treat breast cancer.
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The treatment was tested in mice with human tumours. The tumours in mice were shrunk by around 75 per cent when they were treated with both PCC1 and mitoxantrone.
The fact that the chemical didn't seem to affect healthy cells suggests it could be a promising anti-ageing therapeutic treatment. Future research will need to investigate if the effects of PCC1 are similar to those of people.
Nature Metabolism is a journal reference.
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