Aging and metabolomics

A blood test revealed a lack of antioxidants in the elderly

Ekaterina Rusakova, N+1

Japanese scientists measured the amount of 126 different metabolites in the blood of young and elderly people and found that the level of 14 of them increases or decreases depending on the age of the donor. With age, the level of antioxidants and substances associated with physical activity decreases in the blood, and the number of substances indicating impaired liver or kidney function increases. The results of the study are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Chaleckis et al., Individual variability in human blood metabolites identifies age-related differences).

The study involved 30 healthy volunteers, 15 people aged 25 to 33 years, 15 – aged 74 to 88 years. Samples of blood, plasma and erythrocytes were taken from them, which were examined using chromatography-mass spectrometry. Scientists determined the level of 126 substances in the blood of each subject: amino acids and their derivatives, sugars, antioxidants, vitamins and coenzymes, organic acids. For each substance, the researchers calculated the coefficient of deviation from the average value and compared it for all participants in the study.

As a result, the researchers found that the level of 14 metabolites varies significantly depending on the age of the volunteer. In the blood of elderly healthy people, the level of antioxidants (carnosine, ophthalmic acid), coenzymes NAD + and NADP+ involved in redox reactions in the cell, as well as substances responsible for the formation and growth of muscle tissue (leucine, isoleucine) decreases. At the same time, the level of by-products of the urea cycle in the blood of older people increases. The urea cycle is a series of biochemical reactions that convert nitrogen–containing decomposition products into urea, which is then removed from the body with urine. The reactions of the cycle take place in the liver, therefore, according to the authors of the work, a high content of metabolites indicates a gradual degradation of liver and possibly kidney functions.

Earlier, the authors showed that 11 out of 14 metabolites, whose level changes with age, are present in yeast, which, according to scientists, may indicate that, perhaps, some metabolites are evolutionarily conservative and the study of these substances in yeast will help to understand their significance in the physiology of higher organisms.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  30.03.2016