When it comes to acquiring new skills, dogs have it much easier if two antioxidants are included in their diet:acetyl-l-carnitineand theAlpha lipoic acid. That is the conclusion of a new study published in the scientific journal FASEB. Although some positive effects of these components were already known, this is “the first time that they have been tested incanines, that havebiologically similar brains to humans“, the authors assure.
In his experiments withbeagle dogsof advanced age, the animals had to find food marked with yellow wooden clothespins. In the first attempt, 66% of the dogs that took supplements managed to solve the test, compared to 33% of success in the group that maintained a normal diet. After several weeks of training, the differences increased. “In studies with other mammals we had shown that these supplementsimprove memory and energy level“explains Tory Hagen, professor of theLinus Pauling Institutefrom Oregon State University (USA). “Now we see that the animals that eat them increase their ability tolearn new things, even in advanced ages, “he adds.
Researchers believe that, in the long term, antioxidants may attenuate age-related cognitive decline even in humans, thanks to their ability to combat the decline inmitochondria-the cellular “power plants “-, which Hagen identifies as“the Achilles heel of aging”.
Oregon State University (http://www.orst.edu/)
