Another reason why coffee is good for you
By NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF
SINGAPORE, YONG LOO LIN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
.webp)
A research consortium led by Nestlé Research
in Switzerland and the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of
Singapore (NUS Medicine) made a recent discovery that the natural molecule
trigonelline present in coffee, fenugreek, and also in the human body, can help
to improve muscle health and function.
In an international collaboration among the
University of Southampton, University of Melbourne, University of Tehran,
University of South Alabama, University of Toyama, and University of
Copenhagen, the work builds on a previous collaborative study that described novel
mechanisms of human sarcopenia.
Sarcopenia is a condition where cellular
changes that happen during aging gradually weaken the muscles in the body and
lead to accelerated loss of muscle mass, strength and reduced physical
independence.
One important problem during sarcopenia is that the cellular cofactor NAD+ declines during aging, while mitochondria, the energy powerhouses in our cells, produce less energy. The study team discovered that levels of trigonelline were lower in older people with sarcopenia. Providing this molecule in pre-clinical models resulted in increased levels of NAD+, increased mitochondrial activity, and contributed to the maintenance of muscle function during aging.
Nutritional
Approaches to Combat Aging
NAD+ levels can be enhanced with different dietary precursors like the
essential amino acid L-tryptophan (L-Trp), and
vitamin B3 forms such as nicotinic acid (NA), nicotinamide (NAM), nicotinamide
riboside (NR) and nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN).
Assistant Professor Vincenzo Sorrentino from
the Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme at NUS Medicine added,
“Our findings expand the current understanding of NAD+ metabolism with the discovery of trigonelline as a novel NAD+ precursor and increase the potential of establishing interventions
with NAD+-producing
vitamins for both healthy longevity and age-associated diseases applications.”
Nutrition and physical activity are important
lifestyle recommendations to maintain healthy muscles during aging. “We were
excited to discover through collaborative research that a natural molecule from
food cross-talks with cellular hallmarks of aging. The benefits of trigonelline
on cellular metabolism and muscle health during aging opens promising
translational applications,” said Jerome Feige, Head of the Physical Health
department at Nestlé Research.
Reference: “Trigonelline is an NAD+ precursor
that improves muscle function during ageing and is reduced in human sarcopenia”
by Mathieu Membrez, Eugenia Migliavacca, Stefan Christen, Keisuke Yaku,
Jennifer Trieu, Alaina K. Lee, Francesco Morandini, Maria Pilar Giner, Jade
Stiner, Mikhail V. Makarov, Emma S. Garratt, Maria F. Vasiloglou, Lucie
Chanvillard, Emilie Dalbram, Amy M. Ehrlich, José Luis Sanchez-Garcia, Carles
Canto, Leonidas G. Karagounis, Jonas T. Treebak, Marie E. Migaud, Ramin
Heshmat, Farideh Razi, Neerja Karnani, Afshin Ostovar, Farshad Farzadfar,
Stacey K. H. Tay, Matthew J. Sanders, Karen A. Lillycrop, Keith M. Godfrey,
Takashi Nakagawa, Sofia Moco, René Koopman, Gordon S. Lynch, Vincenzo
Sorrentino and Jerome N. Feige, 19 March 2024, Nature
Metabolism.
DOI: 10.1038/s42255-024-00997-x