More On Sirtuin Inhibitors
EurekAlert has more on surtuin inhibitors - I imagine that people have been dusting off their research for presentation over the past few weeks now that this area is suddenly hot stuff. "In lab tests, dihydrocoumarin (DHC), a compound found naturally in sweet clover and synthetically manufactured for use in foods and cosmetics, inhibited the activity of Sir2p and SIRT1, forms of sirtuin found in yeast and humans ... It's important to note that the role of sirtuins in aging is conserved in distantly related organisms such as yeast, drosophila and the small roundworm, C. elegans. So, it is not too much of a stretch to expect that sirtuins also control the aging process in mammals, including humans. In addition, sirtuins control many important cellular functions besides aging, and an agent that modulates sirtuins, such as DHC, could not only affect aging but also other critical functions, such as metabolism, neurodegeneration and cancer."
Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-12/uoc--fai120805.php