Spermidine – autophagy & anti-aging research.
Spermidine is a natural polyamine found in many foods you likely eat; mushrooms, broccoli, apples, nuts, soy, aged cheese & much more. Like the other polyamines, putrescine and spermine, their attraction to negatively charged compounds like DNA, RNA and some proteins have resulted in them being connected to a variety of different cellular processes ranging from cell growth to cell death.
In terms of spermidine, one cellular process it activates where there is much scientific evidence for, is autophagy. Autophagy is a regulated cell mechanism that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components – it is often thought of as a recycling process.
Life extension seen in model organisms supplemented with spermidine seems to be autophagy dependent. This has caused much interest in further exploring how spermidine is acting and what anti-aging benefits it could have.
For example, in this video we will take a look at a recent study that shows dietary spermidine improves cognitive function in flies and mice and there is a correlation with spermidine intake and cognitive performance in humans. But are there risks to spermidine supplementation and would food intake be sufficient to get these benefits? Find out in this video.
Image credit: Roberto Nickson / Unsplash
Watch more Sheekey Science videos here.
