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Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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19.01.2013 |
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Glaucarubinone extends life expectancy and boosts metabolism
The tree Simarouba glauca [see below] grows in South America. It also goes by the name of Paradise Tree and Bitter Tree. From its seeds an edible oil is produced, which is sometimes used in cosmetics. As yet there are no supplements or super-foods containing Simarouba glauca. But if you read the study in Hormone and Metabolic Research, and know who's behind it, you'll have a sneaking suspicion that these supplements and super foods are not far off.
Ristow also discovered how many life-extending compounds work in lab animals: not through an antioxidant effect or by clearing up free radicals, but by stimulating cells to produce antioxidants themselves. Ristow steered the research on the life-extending properties of L-theanine that we wrote about recently, and also studied the life-extending effect of minute quantities of lithium in drinking water.
So if Ristow gives glaucarubinone to worms, we prick up our ears.
The researchers exposed their nematodes to a low concentration of glaucarubinone and observed that their oxygen consumption [respiration] increased as a result. So their metabolism increased. When the researchers measured the amount of fat [triglycerides] the nematodes had stored in their body, they noticed that the nematodes had become slimmer.
The researchers then looked at the effect of 10 and 100-nanomolar glaucarubinone on the life expectancy of the nematodes, and observed that the highest concentration extended this by a maximum of 2.7 days. That's more than it sounds like, given that nematodes only live for a few weeks.
"Taken together, these findings indicate that glaucarubinone induces mitochondrial metabolism, reduces fat content and extends lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans suggesting that this compound may be worth evaluating in mammals and potentially humans in regard to prevention of aging and age-associated diseases", the researchers conclude.
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