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Is boron a life extender?
We knew boron as an obscure mineral in supplements that supposedly strengthen bones and may also increase testosterone release. Until we came across a remarkable study from the last century in an electrical library, which told us that boron in a moderate dose may also have a life-prolonging effect.
Study
In 1994, Harold Massie, an American researcher with a keen interest in aging, published an article in Environmental Health Perspectives in which he studied the interaction between boron and longevity in laboratory animals.
Seeds often contain a relatively high amount of boron. The same is the case with fruit flies or Drosophila melanogaster. That is why Massie wondered what happens to the lifespan of fruit flies if these organisms are supplemented with boron.
Results
Boron was toxic in relatively high concentrations, as shown in the table below. But in relatively low concentrations, boron extended the lifespan of the fruit flies.
Massie estimated that the life-prolonging effect of fruit flies is optimal at a concentration in the diet of 0.00025 millimoles. And indeed, at this optimal concentration, boron extended life by 9.5 percent.
Disappointing results
Massie conducted similar experiments with mice, but was unable to detect boron's life-prolonging effect. He had somewhat expected this, because the concentration of boron was not higher in young mice than in older animals.
In humans, the concentration of boron is not lower at a young age. Massie has not studied whether boron has a longevity effect in humans - but in 1994 his expectations were not high.
Source:
Environ Health Perspect. 1994 Nov;102 Suppl 7(Suppl 7):45-8.
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