Anti-aging supplement rejuvenates mouse fertility

What's the news: Anti-aging supplement spermidine (quite unfortunate name) restores fertility in aged mice.

Why should we believe it: This news is based on a new study published earlier this week by scientists in China. The scientists first found that ovaries in aged mice have lower levels of spermidine, a compound that occurs naturally throughout the body (mouse as well as human).

The scientists then gave supplemental spermidine to aged mice, either as an injection or in water. In both cases, the result was:

• The oocytes of spermidine-boosted mice developed more quickly and had fewer defects.

• Spermidine-boosted mice gave birth to litters that were twice as big as those of control mice.

Why this is a big deal: There is already evidence that spermidine has rejuvenating effects for the human brain and cardiovascular system. The current study gives hope that spermidine might also rejuvenate our reproductive ability.

So what's next: Hopefully, a rebrand of the name “spermidine.” Beyond that, we need clinical trials on humans to show whether supplementation with this compound boosts fertility in humans and not just in mice.

In case you don't want to wait and are willing to experiment on yourself, spermidine occurs naturally in foods such as wheat germ, lentils, and chicken liver, and is also available as a supplement.