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Lifespan effects of simple and complex nutraceutical combinations fed isocalorically to mice

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Abstract

Present data suggest that the consumption of individual dietary supplements does not enhance the health or longevity of healthy rodents or humans. It might be argued that more complex combinations of such agents might extend lifespan or health-span by more closely mimicking the complexity of micronutrients in fruits and vegetables, which appear to extend health-span and longevity. To test this hypothesis we treated long-lived, male, F1 mice with published and commercial combinations of dietary supplements and natural product extracts, and determined their effects on lifespan and health-span. Nutraceutical, vitamin or mineral combinations reported to extend the lifespan or health-span of healthy or enfeebled rodents were tested, as were combinations of botanicals and nutraceuticals implicated in enhanced longevity by a longitudinal study of human aging. A cross-section of commercial nutraceutical combinations sold as potential health enhancers also were tested, including Bone Restore®, Juvenon®, Life Extension Mix®, Ortho Core®, Ortho Mind®, Super K w k2®, and Ultra K2®. A more complex mixture of vitamins, minerals, botanical extracts and other nutraceuticals was compounded and tested. No significant increase in murine lifespan was found for any supplement mixture. Our diverse supplement mixture significantly decreased lifespan. Thus, our results do not support the hypothesis that simple or complex combinations of nutraceuticals, including antioxidants, are effective in delaying the onset or progress of the major causes of death in mice. The results are consistent with epidemiological studies suggesting that dietary supplements are not beneficial and even may be harmful for otherwise healthy individuals.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Ms. Carol Boyd for her help feeding and monitoring the mice. This work was funded by anonymous donors. The funders had no role in study design, data collection or analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Conflicts of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA

    Stephen R. Spindler & Patricia L. Mote

  2. Department of Statistics, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA

    James M. Flegal

Authors
  1. Stephen R. Spindler
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  2. Patricia L. Mote
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  3. James M. Flegal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephen R. Spindler.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 5 Composition of commercial supplements not described in Table 1 which are components of the diets listed in Table 1
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Spindler, S.R., Mote, P.L. & Flegal, J.M. Lifespan effects of simple and complex nutraceutical combinations fed isocalorically to mice. AGE 36, 705–718 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-013-9609-9

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