Mice fed extracts of a creature called a sea squirt – so-called because they tend to squirt water when plucked from their briny home – reversed some of the signs of ageing, according to a recent study from China.

The extracts fed to the mice are called plasmalogens – a type of lipid (fat) found in the membrane of cells in human organs such as the brain, kidneys, muscle and lungs. They have a variety of functions, including regulating how cells exchange information, protecting the cells from DNA damage and decreasing inflammation.

Past research has shown that the amount of plasmalogens in the blood decreases with age and especially in people with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia.

Significant amounts of plasmalogens are found in foods such as chicken, pork, beef, mussels, scallops and, of course, sea squirts, which are eaten in Korea and Japan.

A Korean dish: sea squirt bibimabap. loveallyson/Shutterstock
In this latest study, researchers gave plasmalogens to middle-aged female mice in much higher concentrations (around 300 to 500 times higher) than would normally be found in a portion of, say, chicken or scallops. They then assessed the mice’s memory and some important parameters that change in the brain with age.

This included the number of neural stem cells, which generate new neurons (brain cells), and the number of connections between neurons.

Read more - https://theconversation.com/eating-sea-squirts-reverses-signs-of-ageing-in-mice-new-research-183056