PR96032

SUZHOU, China, May 17 202 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

If you have ever looked in the mirror and seen greying hair and wrinkles or

forgotten the name of a close friend, you'd be forgiven for wishing for a pill

that could slow or even reverse the effects of ageing.

A new study suggests that this may not be such a fantasy. Researchers from

Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Stanford University, Shanghai Jiao Tong

University, and the Wenzhou Institute of the University of Chinese Academy of

Sciences have reported that supplementing a diet with the sea organisms

Ascidiacea, also known as sea squirts, reverses some of the main signs of

ageing in an animal model.

Sea squirts can be eaten raw and are found in dishes from Korea and Japan.

These sea organisms contain substances called plasmalogens, which are vital to

our body processes. Plasmalogens are found all over our bodies naturally,

particularly in the heart, brain and immune cells, but as we get older, the

amount in our body decreases. This loss is also a characteristic of several

neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's

disease.

To investigate whether boosting the levels of plasmalogens can stave off the

effects of ageing, the researchers studied the effects of adding plasmalogens

to the diet of aged mice.

They found that the supplements had profound effects on the learning abilities

and physical symptoms of these mice.

Professor Lei Fu, the corresponding author of the study, says: "Our research

suggests that plasmalogens may not just stop cognitive decline, but may reverse

cognitive impairments in the ageing brain. Additionally, aged mice fed with the

plasmalogens grow new black hair that is thicker and glossier than aged mice

not fed the supplement."

This study is the first to show, in detail, how plasmalogens affect the ageing

brain.

For more information, please see the full media release(https://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/news/2022/may/eating-sea-squirts-may-reverse-the-signs-of-ageing-study-shows)

or the study(https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmolb.2022.815320/full), which was

published in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences..

Xi'an Jiaotong Liverpool University (XJTLU) (https://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/), the

largest Sino-foreign joint-venture in China, was established in 2006 by the

University of Liverpool in the UK and Xi'an Jiaotong University in China.

Source Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=421359

   Caption: A study by an international team of researchers from Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool

University (XJTLU) and other universities suggests that supplementing a diet

with sea squirts reverses some signs of ageing in an animal model.