Is There a Common Gut Microbiome Signature of Longevity?
By Lillian So Chan
Scientists have discovered that some specific gut bacteria considered beneficial to human health are dominant in the gut microbiome of Italian and Chinese nonagenarians (90-99 years old), centenarians (99-104 years old), and super-centenarians (105 years and older).
They suggested that healthy people who live extremely long lives share a common gut microbiome signature of longevity.
A study carried out in 15 Italian centenarians and 24 super-centenarians reported that these two groups both carry an abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes – bacteria considered beneficial to human health.
These results are in line with another study of 4 centenarians and 63 nonagenarians in China.
Both studies highlighted how specific beneficial gut bacteria are dominant in the gut microbiome of healthy Italian and Chinese centenarians and super-centenarians, providing strong evidence for a functional link between healthy gut microbiome and healthy aging.
About the Author
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Lillian So Chan is the founding editor of WellnessOptions, a print magazine and website, and author of the book WellnessOptions Guide to Health published by Penguin Books. With over thirty years of experience in journalism and editing, Lillian has established unique editorial directions for several award-winning publications. She has worked for Maclean’s, Canada's largest news magazine, and served as a Governor and Deputy Chairperson of the Board of Governors at the Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada. |
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References
- Biagi E (2017) The gut microbiota of centenarians: signatures of longevity in the gut microbiotaprofile, Mech. Ageing Dev. (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mad.2016.12.013
- Biagi E, et al (2016) Gut microbiota and extreme longevity, Curr. Biol. 26 (2016) 1480–1485,http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.04.016.
- Kong F, et al (2016) Gut microbiota signatures of longevity, Curr. Biol. 26 (2016) R832–R833, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.08.015.
- Biagi E, et al (2013) Ageing and gut microbes: perspectives for health maintenance and longevity, Pharmacol. Res. 69 (2013) 11–20, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.phrs.2012.10.005