According to a medical paper published in the British journal Nature Communications on the 19th, a team of European scientists reported that a natural compound has been identified as having protective effects on yeast, worms, and human cultured cells, helping to delay their aging. This marks another significant discovery in the development of anti-aging drug therapies for humans.
Aging induces specific cellular changes, and most known longevity-enhancing methods activate autophagy. Autophagy is a recycling mechanism that clears and degrades damaged proteins and organelles within cells, generating raw materials for synthesizing new molecules. Dysfunction in autophagy allows toxic or damaged molecules to accumulate in cells, leading to age-related pathologies such as neurodegenerative diseases.
In this study, scientists led by Frank Meadow at the University of Graz in Austria screened flavonoids—plant-derived molecules known to promote cellular health—for anti-aging effects in yeast cells.The team discovered that 4,4'-dimethoxychalcone (DMC), naturally occurring in the leaves of the plant "ashitaba," not only extends the lifespan of yeast, worms, and fruit flies but also reduces age-related cellular decline in human cultured cells. DMC protects mouse heart cells during prolonged myocardial ischemia (reduced blood flow to the heart), minimizing the area of tissue death.
Researchers further observed that DMC's protective effects require activating autophagy and inducing systemic metabolic changes—processes conserved across all species.