“until recently, it wasn’t really known how aging could be modified through diet, or how core metabolic signalling pathways influence longevity,” adam bohnert, assistant professor of life sciences at lsu, and one of the leads on the study, said. “what we’ve been able to show is that a natural extract can come in and influence these pathways in much the same way a genetic mutation would.”
bonhert says the discovery gives the team of researchers a therapeutic standpoint.
“we know age is the primary risk factor for many diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, but if you think of aging as a treatable disease, you can actually treat many diseases at once,” he said.
the worms that lived the longest were fed the specialized plant extract just as they reached adulthood, but they were not the only group that benefited from the plant’s life-extending powers. worms treated with the extract for the first time in their equivalent of middle age were still found to live as much as 20 per cent longer than expected.
despite the success seen with worms, the news release states that there is no recommendation for humans to take artemisia scoparia in any form, or any indication of what a safe and effective dosage could be.
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