Tuesday 28 July 2015

Glucosamine: A Longevity Extending Therapeutic and a Dietary Supplement

Investigations at ETH Zurich and four research institutions at Germany carried out by Michael Ristow and colleagues on animal models have revealed that glucosamine could affect longevity as well as could be used as supplement in a diet low on carbohydrates.
Glucosamine, an easily obtainable supplement at the pharmacy, is a well known therapeutic for arthritis as well as a preventive measure for degeneration of joints. Demonstrated about 50 years back glucosamine is also known to decrease the metabolic rate of nutritive sugars. Glucosamine has also shown to be effective in delaying development of carcinoma.
In a research carried out by Michael Ristow in 2007 on roundworms, model organisms for research related to aging, while high concentrates of nutritive sugars affected the lifetime of the worms, inhibition of metabolic process of the carbohydrates however improved their longevity. The methodology though was not applicable for studies on rodent models.
In a recent publication, Ristow and colleagues have stated that studies at Zurich and Germany resulted in a 5% extension of lifespan of roundworms treated with glucosamine in comparison to the control group. The studies on aging mice, with a control group, wherein the mice received identical diets with the experimental group receiving an additional glucosamine supplement, revealed that glucosamine could extend the longevity of the mice by 10%. The mice used for the investigations were 100 weeks old a comparative 65 years of human being. A 10% extension of longevity could mean another 8 years added to the lifetime of a human being.
The studies have also revealed that glucosamine could improve metabolic rates of glucose in the aging mice, suggesting a preventive measure in the development of diabetes.
Investigations also revealed that glucosamine could mimic a low carbohydrate diet and encourage the preferential amino acid metabolism associated with the latter, suggesting that glucosamine could be taken up as dietary supplement by human beings.

Epidemiological studies involving a study group of more than 77,000, carried out recently in two phases, have demonstrated improved longevity in human beings with glucosamine as a dietary supplement. While there hasn't been a definitive proof about the effects of glucosamine on human beings, compared with lifespan-extending therapeutics that could result in side effects, Ristow suggested that glucosamine could with its potentiality be added as a dietary supplement for the human being.


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