Scientists, including a team from Stanford University, have found a compound in sea squirts that improves memory, rejuvenated brain connections, and even restored darker hair, thereby reversing signs of aging. Aging often makes itself visible in familiar ways, from gray hair and wrinkles to lapses in memory, factors that have fueled a longstanding scientific question — whether some of those changes caold eventually be slowed, prevented, or even reversed?
The research, which also involved a group of scientists from Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, points to an intriguing possibility. In experiments with aged mice, the researchers found that dietary supplements containing compounds associated with Ascidiacea, commonly known as sea squirts, reversed several signs linked to aging.
Sea squirts, marine animals that are eaten in parts of Asia, including Korea (where it is known as meongge) and Japan (hoya), can be eaten raw and its high levels of compounds called plasmalogens are found to do the aging magic. Plasmalogens are a type of lipid, or fat molecule, that forms an important part of cell membranes. They occur naturally throughout the human body and are especially abundant in the brain, heart, and immune cells.
Their levels tend to decline as people grow older. Reduced plasmalogen levels have also been observed in several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. That connection has led researchers to investigate whether restoring plasmalogens could help protect the brain from some of the changes associated with aging. To explore that possibility, the team added plasmalogens to the diets of aged mice and examined how the supplements affected both their behavior and their bodies.
The treated mice showed substantial improvements in learning and displayed visible physical changes as well, a striking results with quantum promises for anti-aging. Giving highlight on the research result, corresponding author of the study, Prof. Lei Fu said: “Our research suggests that plasmalogens may not just stop cognitive decline, but may reverse cognitive impairments in the aging brain. Additionally, aged mice fed with the plasmalogens grow new black hair that is thicker and glossier than aged mice not fed the supplement.”
According to the researchers, the work provides the first detailed look at how plasmalogens may influence the aging brain. To measure learning and memory, the scientists used a common laboratory experiment called the Morris water maze. In this test, mice are placed in a pool containing a hidden platform where they can rest. Because mice generally prefer to escape the water, they gradually learn where the platform is located.
After several days of training, younger mice typically remember its position and swim toward it quickly. Older mice often need more time to locate the platform, reflecting the decline in learning and memory that can accompany aging. After five days of training, aged mice receiving plasmalogens performed much more like younger animals. They reached the platform significantly faster than aged mice that had not received the supplement.
The researchers then examined the animals’ brains to determine what might explain the improvement. They found that mice given plasmalogens had more synapses, and those synapses appeared to be in better condition than those in untreated aged mice. Synapses are the tiny junctions through which nerve cells communicate. They allow signals to pass through neural networks and are essential for learning, memory, and many other brain functions. Restoring Connections in the Aging Brain Synapses are highly adaptable early in life. This ability to change and form new connections, often called neural plasticity, helps the brain learn new information and skills.
With age, however, synapses can become less numerous and less effective. Similar deterioration is also associated with neurodegenerative diseases and can contribute to declining cognitive abilities. In the experiment, aged mice receiving plasmalogen supplements appeared better able to form new neural connections and learn new tasks than mice eating a normal diet. The findings suggest that increasing dietary plasmalogens may help protect synapses from some forms of age-related deterioration.
The researchers also identified another important difference between the groups: inflammation in the brain was substantially lower among mice receiving plasmalogens. Inflammation is part of the body’s normal immune response, but chronic or excessive inflammation in the brain can become harmful. As the brain ages, immune activity can become dysregulated, potentially damaging nerve cells and disrupting communication between synapses.
Persistent inflammation is also considered an important contributor to several neurodegenerative disorders. The reduction in inflammation seen in the plasmalogen-treated mice could therefore help explain why they performed better on tests of learning and memory. How Plasmalogens Might Work Scientists do not yet know exactly how dietary plasmalogens produce these effects. Professor Fu outlined several possible mechanisms. “We found that plasmalogens significantly increase the number of molecules that aid the growth and development of neurones and synapses in the brain.
This suggests that plasmalogens can promote neuroregeneration. “There is also an increasing body of evidence that plasmalogens directly affect the structural properties of synapses. Plasmalogens may increase the fluidity and flexibility of synaptic membranes, affecting the transmission of impulses between neurones,” Fu said. Neuroregeneration refers to the repair, renewal, or regrowth of nerve cells and their connections.
If plasmalogens support that process, they could potentially help the aging brain maintain or rebuild some of the neural circuitry needed for memory and learning. The researchers also believe the effects may not be limited to what happens directly inside the brain. Professor Fu points to the gut-brain connection as another possible pathway. “Some studies have shown that dietary plasmalogens affect the microorganisms in the gut. It has been widely reported that the connection between the organisms in our gut and our brain influences neurodegeneration.
It may be the plasmalogen’s effect on this connection that causes the improvements in learning and memory seen in this study.” The gut contains enormous communities of bacteria and other microorganisms, collectively known as the gut microbiome. Research increasingly suggests that these microbes can influence the brain through immune signals, metabolism, and other biological pathways. Scientists often refer to this two-way communication system as the gut-brain axis.
