Anti-aging supplements better sooner

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GAINESVILLE, Fla., May 25 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers suggest a study in rats indicates anti-aging supplements may be better taken sooner rather than later.

Researchers at the University of Florida's Institute on Aging in Gainesville say a neutraceutical -- a pharmaceutical product that has nutritional properties -- taken before very old age may benefit muscles.

Senior author Christiaan Leeuwenburgh and colleagues measured grip strength in rats fed for six weeks with a mixture of co-enzyme Q10, creatine and ginseng commercially available and marketed for relieving chronic fatigue and preventing muscle aging. The rats were middle-aged -- 21 months old, equivalent to humans ages 50-65, and late-middle-aged -- 29 months old in rats, equivalent to humans ages 65-80.

The study in rats, published in the journal PLoS One, finds supplementation was linked to a muscle improvement of 12 percent in middle-aged rats. However, supplementation brought no improvement in the older group of rats.

"I think it is important for people to focus on good nutrition, but for those of advanced age who are running out of energy and not moving much, we're trying to find a supplement mixture that can help improve their quality of life," Leeuwenburgh says in a statement.