Numerous papers demonstrate the ability of carnosine to ward off the harmful effects of aging.
In youth, carnosine protects us from dangerous oxidative processes, glycation, DNA damage and other reactions that damage tissues and organs. 8 Over the course of life, however, carnosine levels in the body decline, 2-4 making us more susceptible to cognitive loss, reduced mobility, loss of metabolic control, cardiovascular disease, and increased risk of cancer. When carnosine was administered to various laboratory animals, their lifespan was prolonged. All of this contributes to changing conventional medicine’s perception of the aging process.
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Scientists investigate the link between carnosine and longevity
Carnosine is found in the body wherever there are higher energy requirements, such as in the brain, heart and muscles. 5 Its function is to protect these vital areas from metabolic demands to produce energy and manage energy requirements. 6,7
Young organisms have high levels of carnosine in precisely these energy-demanding tissues. With increasing age, carnosine levels decline.2-4 The reason for this is that our bodies produce less carnosine with increasing age, and also carnosine becomes more susceptible to destruction. When diseases such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome age the body unnaturally fast, carnosine production decreases and destruction increases. 8,9
These findings suggest that “carnosine deficiency” may be partly responsible for the visible aging and loss of function in numerous parts of the body that is associated with aging. If we could replenish carnosine levels in the body to baseline levels, we could halt at least part of the aging process.
Some of the most dramatic observations in recent years showing how supplementing carnosine prolongs life:
Carnosine slows aging of human cells in vitro.10,11 Scientists have added carnosine to cultures of young cells. While the cells in the control culture showed signs of aging, those supplied with carnosine in high concentrations remained “young.”5 However, when these young-looking cells were transferred to a regular culture dish, they quickly reached the same age level as the control cells. As part of the experiment, the researchers picked out old cells at the end of their life cycle, transferred them to a culture medium containing high levels of carnosine, and found that these cells rejuvenated very quickly, approaching the young cells in appearance.10
Carnosine extends the lifespan of whirligigs, which are microscopic aquatic animals that are used in many laboratories as a model of aging.12 In this experiment, the researchers examined many different antioxidants, identifying carnosine as one of four that had a significant effect on the longevity of the organisms.
Carnosine extended the lifespan of wine flies, which are also used to study aging, by nearly 20% in male individuals.13,14 Normally, male individuals die much earlier than female individuals, but when carnosine was administered, male individuals reached the same age as female individuals.
Carnosine prolonged the lifespan of laboratory mice, which share many characteristics with humans in terms of aging. 15,16
Scientists used a rapidly aging strain of mice and added carnosine to their diets. Not only did these animals live significantly longer, but they also retained the physical and behavioral traits of young individuals.15 They conducted the same experiment with normal mice and found a very similar effect in them. Carnosine clearly improved the appearance and condition of the carnosine-fed animals compared to those that did not receive carnosine.16
What you need to know: Carnosine provides a broad-spectrum defense against aging
Carnosine is a natural anti-aging component of the human body.
Carnosine counteracts such age-inducing processes as oxidation, glycation, protein cross-linking, telomere shortening,64 and the accumulation of modulated metals.
Carnosine levels decline with age, thereby progressively weakening defenses against age-related processes.
Carnosine supplementation can restore original carnosine levels in blood and tissues, and prolongs the lifespan of experimental animals.
Carnosine supplementation may protect against neurodegenerative diseases and defeat, also increases exercise performance, alleviates diabetes and its complications, and protects heart muscle and blood vessels from atherosclerosis.
Carnosine protects against cardiovascular diseases
The effects of carnosine are most pronounced in the heart and blood vessels, and carnosine has been shown to reduce mortality in stroke and mitigate its effects.17-19 Animal experiments have shown that carnosine administered before or after induced culling protects brain cells from so-called Ischemia-reperfusion injury, which occurs when there is a lack of oxygen in the tissue and its subsequent high levels after blood flow is restored.17,18 The beneficial effect of carnosine in this case leads to a reduction in oxidative damage to the cells and a real and significant reduction in the size of the area damaged by the injury.18
Carnosine also protects the heart muscle from ischemia (inadequate blood flow) causing heart attack. This protection is based on the antioxidant effect of carnosine, combined with its ability to scavenge oxidation-induced transition metals, its buffering capacity, and its effect on inflammatory cell activity.19 Carnosine has also been added to solutions used to protect heart muscle during heart surgery, when the heart is stopped and the risk of ischemic damage is very high.20
Carnosine also prevents ischemia in blood vessels, protecting blood vessel endothelial cells from oxidation and glycation, which are early signs of the development of atherosclerosis.21,22 Studies indicate that carnosine prevents the formation of dangerous foam cells, which are originally macrophagesfat-filled macrophages that trigger an inflammatory response leading to atherosclerotic plaque formation.23
Excessive muscle tone in blood vessels increases blood pressure and reduces blood flow in heart muscle and brain cells; carnosine reduces tone in blood vessels by multiple mechanisms.24 It modulates calcium ion signaling in smooth muscle cells that control vasculaturevascular tone and increase the production of beneficial endothelial NO synthetase, which induces a reduction in arterial tone.25
If we consider the beneficial effects of carnosine on skeletal muscle, then it is not surprising to find that carnosine also increases cardiac muscle contractility. Again, this is a multifactorial effect that is partly due to the ability of carnosine to control calcium flow and partly due to the antioxidant, buffering, and antiglycation properties of carnosine.19,26,27
Carnosine combats diabetes and its consequences
The global obesity epidemic carries with it the growing threat of type 2 diabetes and its devastating consequences – cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, nerve damage, and visual impairment.
Studies show that diabetic cells have carnosine levels below normal, similar to those of older adults.10 This may be one reason why diabetes causes accelerated aging.28
Thus, carnosine supplementation can restore the original early levels of carnosine in vital tissues, and offers protection against many of the complications of diabetes.
Carnosine lowers elevated blood sugar levels, reduces long-term formation of advanced glycation end products, limits oxidative stress and increased inflammatory activity and protein cross-linking not only in diabetics but also in otherwise healthy older adults.29-33
How carnosine protects against the destructive effects of elevated blood sugar on the body:
Carnosine protects kidney cells from the effects of high glucose levels, helping to reduce the risk of diabetic kidney disease, nephropathy.34-36
Carnosine reduces oxidation and glycation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which helps reduce the development of diabetes-induced atherosclerosis.37,23
Carnosine reduces the risk of cataracts (cataracts) in diabetics.38,39
Carnosine supplementation also acts as a preventive measure against damage to small blood vessels in the eye that causes diabetic retinopathy, a major cause of vision loss in diabetes.40
Carnosine supplementation prevents loss of sensory nerve function in diabetic animals.41
Carnosine protects brain cells, promotes cognitive function
Medication therapy in slowing cognitive decline has so far proven little effective. Treatments based on carnosine supplementation appear promising.42
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common and feared neurodegenerative disease. Researchers have found that Alzheimer’s patients have even lower levels of carnosine in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid than other older adults.43 It is not yet clear whether this is cause or effect, but many interesting observations suggest a role for carnosine in preventing the disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the result of many factors, virtually all of which are related to carnosine and its role in the brain. Well-known expert Alan R. Hipkiss of London’s Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry recently summarized the relationship between Alzheimer’s disease and declining levels of carnosine in the body.
Hipkiss observed that the parts of the brain that are first affected by Alzheimer’s disease normally have the highest levels of carnosine.44 This suggests that as carnosine levels decline with age, it is these areas of the brain that are most vulnerable to Alzheimer’s-related damage. In addition, he notes that an abnormal protein, amyloid beta, present only in Alzheimer’s-affected brains, is full of zinc ions. Carnosine is able to bind zinc and thereby stop further tissue damage.44,45 Again, declining levels of carnosine expose brain tissue to an unnatural accumulation of toxic zinc.
Finally, Hipkiss notes that the so-called. The “neurofibrillary tangles” found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients contain proteins that are extensively cross-linked.44 Carnosine is a potent inhibitor of protein cross-linking throughout the body.46
Mitochondrial dysfunction is another factor in Alzheimer’s disease; the oxidative stress associated with this dysfunction may be involved in the formation of the amyloid beta protein that is present in Alzheimer’s disease.47 Experimental studies in mice with Alzheimer’s disease have shown that supplementation with carnosine effectively reduces the accumulation of amyloid beta and completely protects their brains from mitochondrial dysfunction.31
In experimental models of neurodegenerative diseases associated with aging, these biochemical relationships show true results. Researchers fed aged mice a carnosine-rich diet that also contained vitamin D3, blueberries, and green tea polyphenols, or a control.48 The animals were trained to find their way to a platform submerged in water. At the end of the training period, the group of aged animals treated with carnosine had better results than a control group of the same aged untreated animals. The carnosine-fed animals were also found to show increased new brain cell formation, reduced inflammatory markers and brain cell deterioration compared to the control group. Similar antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects were observed in the brains of mice with an experimental form of Parkinson’s disease.49
Stroke causes brain cell death caused by oxidative damage. Recent studies show that the antioxidant action of carnosine provides protection in ischemic stroke(insufficient blood supply to brain tissue) and haemorrhagic stroke (damage from bleeding).
In one study, rats were fed a mixture of carnosine, blueberries, green tea and vtiamine D3 for two weeks. They were then given an experimentally induced ischemic stroke in which a major cerebral blood vessel was surgically blocked.50 Behavioral testing before and after the procedure showed that, compared with controls, animals fed the mixture showed a 12% reduction in motor asymmetry, and a 24% reduction in neurological dysfunction after slaughter. These animals also exhibited a threefold higher rate of new brain cell proliferation after slaughter, compared to controls.
Other studies of ischemic stroke demonstrate a strong decrease in oxidative stress and brain cell apoptosis in animals that had carnosine added to their diets.51 Importantly, carnosine also provides protection after ischemia from so-called glutamate excitotoxicity, the same type of neuronal “exaggerated overdrive response” thought to contribute to the further development of Alzheimer’s disease.52
In experimental studies of hemorrhagic stroke, carnosine supplementation led to the restoration of physiological neurotransmitter receptors that had been damaged by the presence of blood in brain tissue.53 Carnosine also prevented the development of some of the dangerous edema that often follows hemorrhagic stroke.53
Carnosine targets six common mechanisms of molecular aging
Initially, scientists considered carnosine to be only an antioxidant molecule. But even though it has good antioxidant properties, carnosine is by no means the most powerful antioxidant in the body. What intrigued scientists is the fact that supplementation with other, more potent antioxidants did not result in as dramatic an increase in lifespan as supplementation with carnosine.62,65
Few researchers, however, have addressed the finding that carnosine does indeed interfere with the six major processes associated with aging. Let’s look at each of these to see how carnosine works overall.
Oxidation at the cellular and tissue level is one of the major factors in aging. Carnosine scavenges oxygen and nitrogen free radicals and reduces their destructive effects on fat and DNA molecules.1,62,66,67 These effects each have a significant impact on stopping atherosclerosis and the development of cancer.
Glycation, the formation of molecular glucose compounds with vital biomolecules such as enzymes and other proteins, is another major cause of aging. Glycated proteins induce severe oxidative stress and trigger inflammatory reactions that accelerate the aging process. Glycated proteins also form ‘cross-links’ that bind them together, reducing their flexibility and functionality. Instead of these biomolecules, carnosine itself undergoes the glycation process, sparing other vital structures, and preventing dangerous cross-linking of proteins.5,67,68
Accumulation of excess metals44,69 Chelates of carnosine, its compounds with copper, zinc, and iron ions. Carnosine forms chelates, compounds with copper, zinc, and iron ions. These metals, when in excess, lead to the production of amyloid beta and other proteins that are present in Alzeimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.66,70-72
Cross-linked proteins result from the accumulation of oxidative damage and glycation at a young age. They are eliminated by intracellular structures – proteasomes.65 With increasing age, however, proteasomal degradation decreases, allowing nonfunctional proteins to accumulate and interfere with cellular functionality. Carnosine is able to react with these abnormal proteins, thereby accelerating their elimination.65,70
Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes that function as a kind of “molecular clock” and shorten after each cycle of cell division. When telomeres shorten too much, cells die. Under experimental conditions, carnosine reduces damage to telomeres and slows their shortening.64
Mitochondrial dysfunction-when mitochondria lose their efficiency, the aging process is accelerated by the fact that the cells are not supplied with enough energy and are subjected to a high oxidative load.47,73,74
Carnosine improves exercise performance
While excess fat increases the risk of diabetes, regular exercise reduces the risk of both diabetes and obesity. Carnosine promotes exercise performance by buffering rising acid levels that build up in stressed muscles.55,56 Acid buildup in muscles causes fatigue and pain, which ultimately limit exercise performance.54,57,58
Increased levels of carnosine present in muscle are now recognized as a means of improvingence in exercise performance and reducing fatigue, which is true for both trained and untrained individuals.6,59,60 This may be a critical factor in ensuring safety and independent living in the elderly, as frailty and risk of falls increase with muscle weakness.61
In a study of people aged 55-92 years, an increase in muscle carnosine levels resulted in a 29% increase in fatigue threshold compared with the pre-carnosine condition; no change in the control group.62 A similar study among 60-80 year olds showed a significant increase in the amount of time they spent exercising before becoming fatigued.63
Conclusion
The last decade has led to a wide range of findings regarding the multiple protective effects of carnosine that result from its ability to combat many of the processes that cause aging.
Carnosine protects against oxidative damage, glycation of vital proteins, the build-up of acidic substances in the muscles and heart, dangerousm transition metals, age-induced protein cross-linking, mitochondrial dysfunction and rapid telomere shortening.64
These diverse actions work together to prevent age-related diseases such as cognitive decline and dementia, promote comfort and heightcon during exercise, slow the progression of metabolic diseases such as diabetes, and work together to defend against atherosclerosis and heart disease. No wonder carnosine is referred to as an “anti-aging dipeptide. ” 26
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