Anti-Aging Products: Scientists Looking Into Marine Invertebrates for Answers to Aging

European scientists are exploring the oceans to look for specific kinds of marine invertebrates that may have anti-aging properties. They are searching for ones that have chemical compounds and associated microbial symbionts that could interfere with aging and/or address other ailments that usually develop as a person gets older.

"We're looking for marine invertebrates," said Rafael Belda Poveda, biology research technician at iMare Natural, as quoted on EuroNews. "This is a mussel farm, and we'll dive here to look for the species we need. Invertebrates have biomolecules that can be used in the fields of cosmetics, pharmacology and nutrition."

According to the report, Poveda and his team of researchers from Spain were exploring the mesophotic zone of the Mediterranean coast, at depths from 30 to 100 meters below the surface. Their task was to select marine invertebrates, such as echinoderms, sea anemones, soft corals, sponges and tunicates, which will then undergo chemical investigation. Their company, iMare Natural, is a partner of TASCMAR, a research project under the EU's Blue Growth Strategy.

"The extract and compound libraries from WP2 [Work Project 2 - Chemical investigations] will be provided to the WP3 [Work Project 3 - Anti-ageing and angiogenesis bioassays] partners in order to assess their pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical and nutraceutical potential," TASCMAR explains. "Chosen targets will relate to molecules known to interfere with the molecular/cellular processes of cellular senescence, in vivo ageing and/or angiogenesis."

The prioritized extracts will undergo extensive screening, such as for cytotoxic effects and for bioactivity in suppressing biomolecule damage. The compounds selected will then be tested for their anti-aging activity, and those that are further chosen will be tested on Drosophila flies for what the project calls "in vivo longevity increasing effects."

It is not just for addressing skin aging, though. TASCMAR project coordinator Jamal Ouazzani explained that the term anti-aging includes many diseases and ailments, including osteoarthritis, eye degeneration due to age, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, among others.

Moreover, the project, while studying the potential of marine invertebrates, is also aiming for sustainable production. Oceanographer Ana Esther Ortiz Maldonado, iMare Natural's head of production, said that they were starting with small species, from 50 to 100 grams. Should a particular invertebrate have "interesting substances," then it would be artificially grown and reproduced so as not to harm those in their natural habitats.

TASCMAR stands for "Tools And Strategies to access original bioactive compounds by Cultivating MARine invertebrates and associated symbionts." It has 13 partners from eight countries with 70 researchers involved. The specific work projects that iMare Natural is involved in are management of bio resources as well as cultivation improvements, and it also gives contributions in the area of management and dissemination.