In this episode of the Longevity & Aging Series, Dr. Ricardo Costeira of King’s College London joins host Dr. Yuan Zhao of Queen Mary University of London to discuss a research paper he co-authored in Volume 17, Issue 12 of Aging-US, titled “Theobromine is associated with slower epigenetic ageing.”
Abstract
Theobromine, a commonly consumed dietary alkaloid derived from cocoa, has been linked to extended lifespan in model organisms and to health benefits in humans. We examined associations between circulating levels of theobromine intake, measured using serum metabolomics, and blood-based epigenetic markers of biological ageing in two European human population-based cohorts. Serum theobromine levels were significantly associated with reduced epigenetic age acceleration, as measured by GrimAge (p < 2e-7) and DNAmTL (p < 0.001) in 509 individuals from the TwinsUK cohort, and both signals replicated in 1,160 individuals from the KORA cohort (p = 7.2e-08 and p = 0.007, respectively). Sensitivity analyses including covariates of other cocoa and coffee metabolites suggest that the effect is specific to theobromine. Our findings indicate that the reported beneficial links between theobromine intake on health and ageing extend to the molecular epigenetic level in humans.
Paper DOI – https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.206344
Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article –
https://aging.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Faging.206344
Subscribe for free publication alerts from Aging – https://www.aging-us.com/subscribe-to-toc-alerts
Keywords – aging, theobromine, epigenetic aging, DNA methylation, metabolomics, nutrition
_____
Aging-US is dedicated to advancing our understanding of the biological mechanisms that drive aging and the development of age-related diseases. Our mission is to serve as a platform for high-quality research that uncovers the cellular, molecular, and systemic processes underlying aging, and translates these insights into strategies to extend healthspan and delay the onset of chronic disease.
Click here to subscribe to Aging-US publication updates.
For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].