Gut bacteria-produced compound may stave off aging 

Researchers examined a class of chemical compounds called indoles and found that they have potential for extending vitality in our fellow mammals, mice. The findings could pave the way for a drug that could one day help humans to "live better for longer."

"Indoles" is the parent name given to a range of chemicals found in nature. The compound occurs in some flowers, such as jasmine and orange blossom, but it can also be found in fecal matter.

Some of indole's chemical versions, such as Indole-3-carbinol, can be found in broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, and other cruciferous vegetables.

Indoles are also produced in our gut by many kinds of bacteria that break down tryptophan, which is an essential amino acid.

New research - led by Daniel Kalman, Ph.D., a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA - examines the effect of indoles on improving the "healthspan" of various organisms, ranging from fruit flies to mice.

The term healthspan is used by the authors to mean the "proportion of time that an animal remains healthy and free of age-related infirmities." 

"We need a better understanding of healthspan," says Prof. Kalman. "With medical advances, people are living longer; but you might not really want to live longer if it means spending those extra years frail and infirm." 

Given our rapidly aging world population, the researcher adds, the health and economic burden that age-related diseases will put on the healthcare system is predicted to skyrocket in the next few decades. 

The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Sources: medicalnewstoday.com Aug 22 2017
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