Feeding aged mice dietary supplements containing compounds found in sea squirts reversed several signs associated with aging, according to research involving scientists at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Stanford University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The compounds in question are plasmalogens, a class of lipid that forms part of the membrane surrounding cells. They occur naturally throughout the human body and are particularly concentrated in the brain, the heart, and immune cells. Levels of plasmalogens fall as people get older, which is part of why they have attracted attention from researchers studying the biology of aging and cognitive decline.
Sea squirts, marine animals classified as Ascidiacea, are unusually rich in these lipids. They are already a familiar food in parts of Asia, eaten raw in Korea, where they are called meongge, and in Japan, where they are known as hoya.
The appeal of this line of work is straightforward: visible aging, from gray hair and wrinkles to memory lapses, has long prompted the question of whether any of it can be slowed or undone. The findings here come from mice rather than people, and the reported effects concern signs linked to aging rather than any diagnosed disease, so the practical meaning for humans remains unsettled.