Tier 3 — preclinical

GlyNAC (Glycine and N-Acetylcysteine) Supplementation in Mice Increases Length of Life by Correcting Glutathione Deficiency, Oxidative Stress, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Abnormalities in Mitophagy and Nutrient Sensing, and Genomic Damage

Kumar P, Osahon OW, Sekhar RV
Nutrients 2022 14(5):1114

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 35268089
PubMed Central
PMC8912885
Funding
Internal Baylor College of Medicine funding.
Competing interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Study snapshot

DesignControlled animal intervention with mechanistic experiments
ModelC57BL/6J mice; survival and tissue cohorts
SampleSurvival cohort: 32 C57BL/6J mice, 16 per arm (8 male and 8 female). Separate tissue cohort: 15 male mice, 5 per group
InterventionDiet containing glycine 1.6 mg/g feed plus NAC 1.6 mg/g feed (0.16% each) versus control diet
DurationSurvival: supplementation from age 65 weeks through natural death. Separate tissue study: 8 weeks from age 90 weeks in old mice, with young controls
EndpointsLifespan; Glutathione; Mitochondrial and nutrient-sensing markers

What the study showed, in plain terms

A mouse study reported longer survival and improvements in several aging-related tissue measures with GlyNAC. Its lifespan result concerns the combination in mice, not isolated glycine or human longevity.

Key findings

  • The authors reported approximately 24% longer lifespan in the GlyNAC-treated survival cohort.
  • Heart, liver and kidney measures were assessed in a separate tissue experiment, not in the mice followed for lifespan.
  • The experiment tested combined glycine and NAC in mice; it does not establish human lifespan extension or the effect of glycine alone.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Small exploratory animal study with strain, sex and cohort limitations.

The result cannot be transferred to human lifespan or compared directly with a different glycine-only mouse protocol.

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

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