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: https://iop.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.