There
is a tiny worm that may tell us a big story about ketones. Called Caenorhabditis elegans, or C. elegans for short, this is a
transparent free-living nematode (roundworm) less than 1/8 inch long (1 mm)
that moves like a snake. The worm lives only about 2 to 3 weeks and emits a
blue fluorescence when it dies. It is one
of the simplest organisms that has a nervous system, consisting of 302 neurons
(brain cells) and has been used extensively since 1963 in medical research. Every type of cell in this worm has been thoroughly
studied and its entire genome has been mapped out. C.elegans is a regular passenger on space
flights and on the space station and actually survived the space shuttle
Columbia disaster in 2003. It has been
used to study conditions like nicotine addiction, effects of zero gravity on
muscle atrophy, sleep and aging.
So,
what does this have to do with ketones? A
recent research study using C.elegans strongly suggests that ketones extend lifespan
and have anti-aging effects. As we age,
our cells deteriorate, often leading to chronic medical conditions and brain
diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Dietary restriction of calories slows
the process of aging down and increases the lifespan of many organisms including
primates and C.elegans. Dietary restriction is known to increase ketone levels
and this could at least partly explain its effects on prolonging life. Researchers in the anti-aging field look for
substances that mimic dietary restriction and lead to longer lifespan and delay
the onset of diseases of aging. It turns
out that the ketone betahydroxybutyrate, found in ketone salts (marketed by the
Pruvit company), is one of those anti-aging substances. Medium-chain
triglycerides (MCT) found in coconut oil, palm kernel oil and MCT oil, partly
convert to betahydroxybutyrate as well.
In
2015, researchers at the University of South Florida published their study in
which they found that high levels of D-betahydroxybutyrate extended the
lifespan of C.elegans by 26% and that this effect was likely due, at least in
part, to suppressing certain enzymes involved in inflammation and damage from
reactive oxygen species. They then studied the effects of betahydroxybutyrate
on models of the worm that were engineered to represent Alzheimer’s disease and
Parkinson’s disease. They further found that
betahydroxybutyrate delayed the onset of signs of Alzheimer’s in the worm by
15% and also delayed the formation of clumps of the abnormal protein found in
Parkinson’s disease by 35%. The bottom line here is that
betahydroxybutyrate prolonged the lifespan and was found to protect brain cells
in the worm.
In
an article published in 2017, Dr. Richard L. Veech and his associates at the
National Institutes of Health further explain how these findings in C.elegans might
be translated to prolonging human lifespan and delaying effects of aging on the
brain. The likely ketone effects
involved include anti-inflammatory effects, reduction of damage from reactive
oxygen species, and reducing levels of glucose and insulin. My summary here is just a simple explanation
for the very technical, complicated biochemistry involved.
We
gigantic humans share many of the same chemical pathways as C. elegans,
including those studied in the University of South Florida experiments. Do ketones
have anti-aging effects? Based on the
latest information from studying this little worm, the answer to this question appears
to be yes!
References:
Edwards C, J Canfield, N Copes, et al.
D-beta-hydroxybutyrate extends lifespan in C. elegans. Aging Vol. 6 No. 8 (2014):1-24.
Edwards C, N Copes, PC Bradshaw.
D-beta-hydroxybutyrate: an anti-aging ketone body. Oncotarget Vol. 6 No. 6 (2015): 3477-8.
Veech RL, PC Bradshaw, K Clarke, et al. Ketone
bodies mimic the life span extending properties of caloric restriction. IUBMB Life Vol. 69 No. 5 (2017):305-314.
Labels: AD, aging, Alzheimer's, anti-aging, betahydroxybutyrate, caloric restriction, coconut oil, inflammation, ketogenic diet, ketones, MCT oil, medium chain triglycerides
