Face Cream Ingredient May Extend Life

It sounds like something you would read on the Internet. Wait, you are reading on the Internet, but this time it appears to be supported by research conducted at the University of Liverpool: allantoin, which is found in botanical extracts of the comfrey plant (and in the urine of many mammals) and is an ingredient of many anti-aging creams, can mimic the effect of calorie restriction and increase lifespan in worms by more than 20 percent. Science Daily reports on the research, which used pattern-matching algorithms to link drug compounds and calorie restriction effects. The researchers, studying complex genetic data, found eleven potential compound. Five of these were then tested in nematode worms. Science Daily reports that worms treated with allantoin, rapamycin, trichostatin A and LY-294002 not only lived longer, but also stayed healthier longer. Read an abstract of the research findings here.