A study conducted by scientists from ETH Zurich and other German research centers found out that glucosamine, an arthritis supplement, can extend the lifespan of a mouse by up to 10 percent.
A study conducted by scientists from ETH Zurich and other German research centers found out that glucosamine, an arthritis supplement, can extend the lifespan of a mouse by up to 10 percent.
Michael Ristow, lead author of the study and a professor from ETH Zurich, added glucosamine to the diet of roundworms. They discovered that the supplement increased the subjects' lifespan by five percent. After that, they introduced glucosamine to mice that are 100 weeks old, equivalent to 65 years old for humans. The mice were divided into two groups; one that received glucosamine while the other was fed a similar diet with no glucosamine. Results showed that glucosamine was responsible for the eight percent increase in the mice's lifespan, which is equivalent to at least eight years for humans.
Furthermore, the integration of glucosamine in the mice's diet showed that the substance acted as prevention for diabetes, shielding the mice from developing this common disease of the elderly.
Glucosamine is readily available in drug stores as a supplement for arthritis and to help patients diagnosed with joint degeneration. Previous studies also showed that it can delay the growth of cancer cells and impedes the metabolism of sugars.
Further analysis showed that glucosamine also helps in the breakdown of amino acids for the worms and mice. Amino acids are essential components of proteins, and when there is a low supply of carbohydrates, the body turns to them for energy supply.
"This reflects the metabolic state of a low-carb diet due to glucosamine supplementation alone - while these mice ingested the same amount of carbohydrates as their unsupplemented counterparts," Bristow said in a press release.
This shows that glucosamine may be used by humans to induce a low-carb diet while maintaining the carb requirements on a regular diet.
Further details of this study were published in the April 8 issue of Nature Communications.
