Nectandrin B (Found In Nutmeg) Extends Lifespan As Much As Rapamycin

Dr. Mike Lustgarten explains the science:

In a nutshell

Nectandrin B, a compound found in nutmeg, has been tested in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) and compared with rapamycin. Now, you may be thinking “but I am not a fruit fly” and that’s fine. It’s just that Drosophila are often used in longevity research for their short lifespans and ease of care, while still having a surprisingly comparable genome that makes them more relevant than one might expect, when it comes to interventions for human longevity. Similar deal as with C. elegans, a tiny worm that is also used in a lot of such research.

In few words: nectandrin B extended lifespan to a similar degree as rapamycin, which makes it noteworthy given rapamycin’s reputation as a longevity drug.

Since rapamycin is also a potent immunosuppressant, that’s a considerable drawback for most people; nutmeg doesn’t have that problem. It’s worth noting though that nutmeg’s toxicity such that you shouldn’t have more than a teaspoon or so of nutmeg per day—much like cinnamon.

Some other notes:

• Nectandrin B extended the maximum lifespan significantly, but extended the median lifespan only slightly.
  • From this we may infer that while it slows aging generally, it’s not protective against all things, and if we are for other reasons predisposed to die early, it’s likely to not help.
  • But if we are otherwise predisposed to fair longevity, it’s likely that nectandrin B will confer upon us rather greater longevity.
• The longevity-enhancing effects were enjoyed equally regardless of sex so we may expect the same in humans.
• Nectandrin B also prevented cellular senescence in fibroblasts, which are found in skin, ligaments, tendons, and cartilage—suggesting possible benefits for connective tissue health.
• While promising, this is nevertheless so far based on fruit fly studies so far, so we’ll report more when we’re aware of studies in small mammals (e.g. mice, rats). This kind of thing is hard to study in humans, because our very long lifespans mean having to wait a very long time to see results from human longevity trials!

For more on all of this, including graphs of the data, enjoy:

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Take care!