Generally, anti-aging research will conduct experiments on "progeria mice" that age rapidly and focus on one or two aging phenomena for discussion.

Although such a result is scientifically meaningful and efficient, it lacks a little "natural" truth. After all, most aging phenomena are characterized by slow wear and tear day after day, and the signs of aging will not be limited to a certain body part or function.

The researchers first took normal aging mice as experimental subjects. Without interfering with the aging process, the researchers spent 10 months observing the effects of supplementation of Ganoderma lucidum triterpenoids on various aspects in vitro and in vivo, and then further studied how triterpenoids of Ganoderma lucidum (TGL) prevent the decline of brain function through mice with Alzheimer's disease genes.

The research was led by Associate Researcher Diling Chen of the Edible Fungi Research and Development Center of the Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, and Professor Mei Zhang, Director of the Department of Chemistry of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Thanks to them for compiling their research results and publishing them in the "Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience" in May 2021, we can fully understand the anti-aging effects of triterpenoids of Ganoderma lucidum.

The "TGL" (triterpenoids of Ganoderma lucidum) throughout this study is the "triterpenoid-rich Ganoderma lucidum fruiting body ethanol extract" obtained by a specific extraction process.

The researchers added 0.2% TGL to the feed as the daily food of 8-month-old mice and compared with the control group of mice of the same age who only ate general feed. Both groups consisted of half male mice and half female mice.

After 10 months, these mice have reached an advanced age, and the mortality rate of the two groups of mice is about 30% to 40%, and there is not much difference. However, the aging degree of the surviving mice will be significantly different with or without long-term use of TGL:

● Female mice are slimmer:

There was no significant difference in body weight between the TGL group and the control group regardless of gender, but the female mice in the TGL group looked slimmer than the control group.

● The fur is smoother than before the experiment:

Logically, the hair of animals should get worse as they get older. But the TGL group's fur was smoother than it was 10 months ago. In contrast, the fur of the control group was dry, sparse and tarnished (more pronounced in females than in males). Some mice in the control group even had problems with skin cells shedding due to aging and skin diseases.

● Better skin conditions:

The elastic fibers in the control group became thicker and distorted (skin laxity) and the epidermal cell layers in the control group were irregularly arranged (the skin's water-retaining function was reduced) while the TGL group did much better in this regard.

● No cataracts:

The control group had cataracts in 11% of males and 14% of females while the TGL group not only had no cataracts but also had better lacrimal gland function and corneal tissue (the cornea is associated with vision).

● Smaller brown fat cells:

Brown fat, also called brown adipose tissue, is a special type of body fat that is turned on (activated) when you get cold. Brown fat produces heat to help maintain your body temperature in cold conditions. Compared with the control group, the volume of brown adipocytes in the TGL group was significantly smaller, which seems to imply that TGL has a fat-burning effect.

● The aging degree of brain, liver, kidney and spleen is less severe:

TGL group was significantly less in the amount of apoptosis of brain cells and hepatocytes, the amount of fat accumulated in liver tissue, the amount of β-galactosidase associated with cellular senescence in kidney tissue, or the number of iron ions (Fe2+) associated with cellular senescence in spleen tissue.

According to the actual observation in this study, TGL has at least three anti-aging mechanisms: slowing down the shortening of telomeres (representing a slower rate of cell aging), enhancing autophagy activity (representing a higher ability of cells to remove useless or harmful metabolites), and regulates sphingolipids metabolism.

Sphingolipids including sphingomyelin, cephalin and sphingosine are not only components of cell membranes but also participate in the regulation of various physiological functions such as cell growth, migration, aging and apoptosis. When they cause an abnormal increase in one of the sphingolipids or related metabolites due to metabolic disorders, the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer's disease), cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory skin lesions, cataracts and other diseases increases.

In this study, whether it was sphingolipid-related substances in serum or gene expression related to sphingolipid metabolism in brain tissue, there were significant differences between the TGL group and the control group of the same age but the TGL group and young mice (3-month-old) were not significantly different. This indicates that long-term TGL supplementation helps to maintain the normalization of sphingolipid metabolism.

Triterpenoids of Ganoderma lucidum delay the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease.

The researchers also demonstrated through mice with Alzheimer's disease genes that even in the face of inevitable amyloid deposition, if supplementation of TGL (100 mg/kg per day) continued from the beginning of the disease, the speed of brain function decline can be delayed through the regulation of sphingolipid metabolism, immune response, neurotransmitter, synaptic transmission, protein modification, electrolyte balance and other aspects.

In addition, the study also found that if the mice with the Alzheimer's disease genes were continuously given ganoderic acid A (10 mg/kg per day) in the early stage of the disease, the pathological proteins and inflammatory factors produced by their brain tissues were significantly less, the autophagy activity of cells to remove harmful substances is significantly higher, and the previously observed effect of TGL in regulating sphingolipid metabolism in normal aging mice also appeared here. These results indicate that ganoderic acid A is one of the main components of Ganoderma lucidum triterpenoids in anti-aging effect.

Although ganoderic acid A is the most abundant triterpenoid in TGL, its content is only 0.0156%. Even if the 9 index components of TGL (ganoderic acids A, B, C2, D, G, H and ganoderenic acids B, C, D) are all added up, the total content is less than 0.1%, showing the anti-aging effect of TGL is more likely to be the sum of all the components in the Ganoderma lucidum fruiting body ethanol extract. Perhaps because of the diversity of its ingredients, TGL's anti-aging effects are exhaustive.

Ideally, we plan ahead before we get old. However, from the above research results, it is not too late to start taking Ganoderma lucidum for anti-aging even in old age, and even those with Alzheimer's disease genes have a chance. As long as you choose the right Ganoderma lucidum, without omitting the triterpenoid-rich Ganoderma lucidum fruiting body ethanol extract, eat it as soon as possible, eat it every day, and continue to eat it, you will be healthy and have a nice look. And mitigating Alzheimer's disease also may not be a distant dream.

References：

Miao Zeng, et al. Long-Term Administration of Triterpenoids from Ganoderma lucidum Mitigates Age-Associated Brain Physiological Decline via Regulating Sphingolipid Metabolism and Enhancing Autophagy in Mice. Front Aging Neurosci. 2021; 13: 628860.

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★ The original text of this article was written in Chinese by Wu Tingyao and translated into English by Alfred Liu. If there is any discrepancy between the translation (English) and the original (Chinese), the original Chinese shall prevail. If readers have any questions, please contact the original author, Ms. Wu Tingyao.

 

 

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