5-ALA and SFC cocktail holds potential for fighting muscle decline and extending lifespans, suggests study

08 Feb 2022 --- A mix of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) hydrochloride and sodium ferrous citrate (SFC) inhibits muscle aging, possibly also prolonging lifespans. This is according to a new fly study funded by SBI Pharmaceuticals, which specializes in the commercialization of 5-ALA.

The study was supported by a research award from the Japan Foundation for Aging and Health and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Challenging Research (Exploratory).

Intriguingly, flies receiving both high and low doses of 5-ALA and SFC showed no significant difference when comparing biomarkers of oxidative stress between days 1-35. This is potentially linked to the production of reactive oxidative species, which can damage muscle tissue.

The findings pave the way for further trials for 5-ALA, which lead researcher Kanae Ando theorizes may have “therapeutic” applications to prevent muscle decline in aging consumers.

A precursor to Hemoglobin
SBI Pharma’s representative director and president, Yoshitaka Kitao, refers to 5-ALA as “a fascinating amino acid with multiple action mechanisms.” 

Age-related muscle decline can result in reduced grip, slower gait and increased susceptibility to falls.5-ALA is well known in biochemistry as the starting point of the porphyrin cycle, a cascade of chemical reactions that leads to the production of heme. Heme is a key precursor compound to hemoglobin, the molecule responsible for carrying oxygen around bodies.

The amino acid supplement has been found in previous SBI Pharma studies to improve glucose tolerance and insulin resistance in mice with diabetes mellitus and prevent inflammatory responses caused by acute graft-versus-host disease. 

Increasing lifespans
In the study, researchers fed fruit flies cornmeal-based food laced with various concentrations of 5-ALA and SFC. The flies were divided into a control group, and two other experimental groups. One experimental group received a low dose of the 5-ALA and SFC combo, and the other received a high dose. There were 30 flies in each group.

For the control group, the average lifespan was 57 days. Flies receiving a low dose of 5-ALA and SFC lived for an average of 60 days. The group of flies receiving the highest dose of the combo had the longest lifespan, living for an average of 65 days. 

Fighting movement decline
When researchers observed the behavior and movement of the flies, they found those that did not receive supplementation displayed a marked age-related decline in climbing ability after three weeks of age. However, flies of the same age receiving the supplement had improved locomotor function, especially those receiving a higher dose. 

The researchers say this means that 5-ALA and SFC supplementation “ameliorates the age-related decline in locomotor activity.”

Muscle architecture in the control group had also deteriorated significantly with age compared to groups receiving the supplement. By 35 days of age, flies in the control group displayed more “disordered” muscle tissue structures than supplemented flies, pointing to the supplements’ role in maintaining muscle health.

The researchers did not find any remarkable alteration in the mitochondrial activity of the flies receiving 5-ALA and SFC. 

However, the researchers noted a significant change to the mitochondrial membrane potential of supplemented flies, with flies in the control group displaying much greater oxidative stress markers by day 35 than the other groups.

Edited by Olivia Nelson