Summary: Blended antioxidant supplements significantly enhance spatial cognition, short-term memory, and muscle durability in aged mice. This discovery suggests a promising avenue for combating age-related cognitive decline and muscle weakness, diseases that not only diminish quality of life but also contribute to rising healthcare costs.
The study highlights the potential of antioxidants, found in both foods and supplements, to mitigate the damaging effects of oxidative stress on the body. While the findings offer hope for preventing conditions like Alzheimer’s and sarcopenia in humans, further research is needed to confirm their efficacy and establish safe, effective dosages.
ey Facts:
- Antioxidant supplements improved memory and muscle strength in aged mice, pointing towards a method to counteract age-related declines in cognitive and physical health.
- The study used a specific blend of antioxidants, Twendee X, mirroring the composition of the commercial supplement Oxycut®, demonstrating the benefits of consuming multiple antioxidants together.
- Despite the promising results, further investigation is required to validate these findings in humans and to determine the optimal blend and dosage of antioxidant supplements.
Source: SIT
Age-related decline in cognitive and muscle function continues to be a significant challenge for the field of healthcare. Healthcare costs associated with treating age-related cognitive decline and muscle weakness are expected to increase substantially in the future.
One of the primary underlying mechanisms responsible for age-related health decline is oxidative stress, which refers to the progressive damage inflicted by oxygen-free radicals on cells.
Certain compounds in foods, known as antioxidants, are capable of neutralizing oxygen-free radicals. Consuming antioxidant-rich foods is known to reduce cell damage and slow down age-related health decline. In the absence of an antioxidant-rich diet, people often turn to antioxidant supplements that offer comparable or greater health protection.
Now, a team of scientists, led by Professor Koji Fukui affiliated with the Shibaura Institute of Technology (SIT) and including Dr. Fukka You from Gifu University found that administering a blended mix of antioxidant supplements to aged mice significantly improves their spatial cognition, short-term memory, and muscle durability.
The paper was published in the special Issue ‘Antioxidants in health and diseases’ of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences on February 28, 2024.
“In this study, significant improvements were observed in the spatial learning ability and short-term memory in supplement-treated aged mice. Long term intake of blended antioxidant supplements may be effective, even considering the effects of aging and related increased oxidation in the body,”, explains Prof. Fukui, the lead researcher of the study.
Memory loss is associated with several debilitating diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, which disproportionately affect older people. The discovery that blended antioxidant supplements improve memory in mice suggests that they may also be beneficial in preventing memory loss in humans.
Sarcopenia, another age-related disease, results in a progressive loss of muscle strength in older individuals. This condition significantly affects people’s mobility, often leading to social isolation.
Moreover, sarcopenia can increase the risk of developing cognitive disorders. If blended antioxidant supplements can enhance muscle strength in mice, they may also hold the potential for mitigating muscle frailty and sarcopenia in humans.
“Frailty and sarcopenia are now serious problems and potent risk factors for dementia. Although the mechanism is unknown, it is groundbreaking that taking supplements may be able to prevent muscle weakness”, notes Prof. Fukui.
Numerous types of antioxidant supplements are available in the market, and determining the right supplements to buy can often be challenging for consumers. The results of this groundbreaking study by Professor Fukui and his colleagues support the use of blended antioxidant supplements to prevent age-related health decline.
However, further research is necessary to establish the efficacy and safety of blended antioxidant supplements in humans. Moreover, specific antioxidant blends may have varying effects on the human body, and their use should be ideally based on clinical evidence.
The antioxidant blend used in the study was Twendee X, which has a similar composition to the commercially available supplement Oxycut®.
“Although many types of antioxidant supplements are available, the effect is greater if multiple types are taken simultaneously rather than one type. However, it is difficult to know which type and how much to take, as it is possible to take too many of some vitamins,” Prof. Fukui observes.
“We recommend only taking multivitamins that are guaranteed to be safe,” he cautions.
Besides choosing the right antioxidant supplement, adopting the right regimen can also confuse consumers. Future research on the individual differences in the effects of antioxidants can reduce confusion around the optimum dose and composition of antioxidant supplements.
Over the long term, optimal use of antioxidant supplements may significantly reduce age-related health decline.
“In the future, there will come a time when we will provide multi-supplements tailored to each individual. There will be no need to worry about overdosing,” concludes Prof. Fukui.
About this aging and antioxidants research news
Author: Saeko Komatsu
Source: SIT
Contact: Saeko Komatsu – SIT
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“A Blended Vitamin Supplement Improves Spatial Cognitive and Short-Term Memory in Aged Mice” by Koji Fukui et al. International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Abstract
A Blended Vitamin Supplement Improves Spatial Cognitive and Short-Term Memory in Aged Mice
Although many types of antioxidant supplements are available, the effect is greater if multiple types are taken simultaneously rather than one type. However, it is difficult to know which type and how much to take, as it is possible to take too many of some vitamins. As it is difficult for general consumers to make this choice, it is important to provide information based on scientific evidence.
This study investigated the various effects of continuous administration of a blended supplement to aging mice. In 18-month-old C57BL/6 mice given a blended supplement ad libitum for 1 month, spatial cognition and short-term memory in the Morris water maze and Y-maze improved compared with the normal aged mice (spontaneous alternative ratio, normal aged mice, 49.5%, supplement-treated mice, 68.67%, p < 0.01).
No significant differences in brain levels of secreted neurotrophic factors, such as nerve growth factor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor, were observed between these two groups. In treadmill durability tests before and after administration, the rate of increase in running distance after administration was significantly higher than that of the untreated group (increase rate, normal aged mice, 91.17%, supplement-treated aged mice, 111.4%, p < 0.04).
However, training had no reinforcing effect, and post-mortem serum tests showed a significant decrease in aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and total cholesterol values.
These results suggest continuous intake of a blended supplement may improve cognitive function and suppress age-related muscle decline.
