Island soil may hold life elixir
Updated on 09 July 2009
A secret in the soil of Easter Island could turn out to be a biochemical "elixir of life", research suggests.
Scientists believe the antifungal agent rapamycin, produced by soil bacteria, has extraordinary life-extending properties.
They predict further research on the compound could lead to a genuine "anti-ageing" pill that keeps people young.
Rapamycin, which was first discovered in the 1970s in the South Pacific, is today used as an immunosuppressor to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients.
Researchers in the US fed the drug to ageing mice and increased the life expectancy of males by 28% and females by 38%.
In human terms, this was equivalent to the extra lease of life expected if both cancer and heart disease were prevented or cured.
Dr Arlan Richardson, director of the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Ageing Studies in Texas, where much of the work was carried out, said: "I never thought we would find an anti-ageing pill for people in my lifetime; however, rapamycin shows a great deal of promise to do just that."
The compound blocks activity of an enzyme called TOR which regulates cell metabolism, cell growth and protein manufacture in response to environmental cues.
Reducing TOR function had already been shown to extend the life of yeast, nematode worms and flies, but the effect had never before been seen in mammals.
Dr Lynne Cox, an expert on ageing at Oxford University, said: "It is especially interesting that the drug was effective even when given to older mice - equivalent to 60-year-old humans - as it would be much better to treat ageing in older people rather than using drugs long term through life."
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