Slowing down aging is the desire of many people, if not all of them, that is why supplements, creams and healthy habits are adopted to try to continue to age, and to do so in good conditions. What would you say if I told you that they have discovered a food that could slow down the effects of aging, it is sea squirts (Ascidiacea) or sea squirts.
These marine organisms are very common in Korean and Japanese cuisine, where they can be found both raw and cooked, and contain substances called plasmalogens, which are found naturally in immune cells and in our brains, but which decrease as that years are passing. This reduction also increases the risk of some neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s.
The research, which has been published in the journal Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, has been carried out by researchers from Xi’an Jiaotong University-Liverpool, Stanford University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Academy of Sciences of the University of China and has been carried out in elderly mice that were subjected to a diet rich in plasmalogens.
Better memory and learning with the sea jets
The findings indicated that the mice that took sea squirts had better learning abilities than those that did not. So much so that the old mice behaved like young mice in tests of learning and memory, reaching the goal much faster than the old mice in the control group that did not drink water jets.
Lei Fu, one of the authors of the study, has indicated that “our research suggests that plasmalogens can not only stop cognitive decline, but also reverse cognitive deficits in the aging brain. In addition, aged mice fed plasmalogens develop new black hair that is thicker and shinier than aged mice that did not receive the supplement.”
“Plasmalogens can not only stop cognitive decline, they can also reverse cognitive deficits in the aging brain”
In order to find an answer to this cognitive association, the researchers analyzed the brain changes produced by the consumption of this marine organism. They determined that the mice that ate it had a greater quantity and quality of synapses, that is, more and better connections between neurons, compared to older mice that did not take this supplement.
As for brain inflammation, another symptom of aging, it decreased considerably in the group of elderly mice that had taken the plasmalogen supplements, which the authors believe could be the cause of their better performance in the tasks of memory and learning.
“We found that plasmalogens significantly increase the number of molecules that help the growth and development of neurons and synapses in the brain. This suggests that plasmalogens may promote neuroregeneration. There is also a growing body of evidence that plasmalogens directly affect the structural properties of synapses. Plasmalogens can increase the fluidity and flexibility of synaptic membranes, which affects the transmission of impulses between neurons”, concludes Fu.
The researcher believes that sea squirt supplements could become a way to fight against neurodegeneration and in favor of neuroregeneration. “Oral intake of plasmalogens could be a feasible therapeutic strategy to improve cognitive function in older people,” explains Lei Fu.
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