Little-known gut bacterium may protect against aging, study suggests… how to increase your body’s supply
A little-known gut bacterium may help delay aging and extend healthy lifespan, a new study shows.
Researchers in China sought to understand the impact of bacteria in the digestive system on ‘inflammaging,’ a type of chronic, low-grade inflammation that develops throughout the body as a natural part of aging.
While inflammation is necessary in the short term to fight injury and infection, aging impairs the immune system’s ability to quell excess levels. Over time, this inflammation silently damages cells, leading to chronic conditions such as arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and dementia.
In their new study, researchers honed in on Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum (BP), a bacterium that helps maintain a healthy intestinal barrier and fight off harmful pathogens in the gut.
Analyzing stool samples from more than 1,700 adults, the team found the abundance of BP sharply declines with age in both men and women.
They also used a ‘microbiome aging clock’ called MicroAge, which analyzes gut microbiome changes to estimate biological age, or the age of a person’s cells rather than their chronological age.
The team found people with a higher concentration of BP had a ‘younger’ biological age, a sign that the bacterium may be protective against aging.
Additionally, when researchers gave BP to older mice, they found these mice had less inflammation in major organs and performed better on both physical and cognitive tests.
A little-known gut bacterium may help improve inflammation and biological aging, a new study suggests
While the findings are observational and cannot firmly determine that BP reverses or delays biological aging, the team suggested regrowing lost levels of the bacterium with probiotic-rich foods such as yogurt and kimchi may promote and support healthy aging.
In the new study, published in the journal Nature Aging, researchers collected stool and blood samples from 1,740 Chinese adults from surrounding medical centers. Participants had no major diseases, infections, recent vaccinations or antibiotic use, which can all alter gut bacteria.
Before providing samples, participants followed a standard diet compliant with the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents, which focuses on fruits, vegetables and lean meat and fish. They were also given questionnaires about their dietary habits over the past year.
Using MicroAge, the team found BP was the most prominent bacterium that declines with age in both sexes, which led the team to designate it as a ‘sex-independent hallmark of the aging gut microbiome.’
The researchers considered it a ‘geroprotective’ bacterium, meaning it may be potentially protective against biological aging.
Following the human experiment, researchers orally administered the bacterium to naturally aged mice, which are roughly equivalent to a 56- to 69-year-old human. The mice were compared to a control group that did not receive the supplementation.
The above graph shows that among multiple strains of microbes tested, Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum (BP) was associated with decreased aging in male participants
The above graph shows that among multiple strains of microbes tested, Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum (BP) was associated with decreased aging in female participants
Researchers performed tests evaluating the mice’s motor skills such as walking and cognitive abilities before their tissues and organs were collected for analysis.
Mice who received the BP supplementation had more varied and beneficial gut bacteria following the experiment than the control group, and low-grade inflammation was improved in the liver, lungs, skeletal muscle, kidneys, heart, spleen and intestine.
Additionally, mice who received the bacterium showed improved balance, walking, memory and behavior compared to the control group.
The experts believe BP increased levels of 5-Aminovaleric acid betaine (5-AVAB), a gut compound that declines with age in both mice and humans and may be associated with lower biological age.
Study authors noted that while findings rely on self-reported data and all of the mice were male, presenting limitations, there may be value in supplementing lost BP through food sources.
Consuming specific strains of prebiotics and probiotics has been associated with increased BP. These strains can be found in lentils, chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, garlic, onions and asparagus. Additionally, fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, kimchi and sauerkraut have been shown to diversify gut bacteria.
