Magic mushrooms live up to their name by appearing to slow ageing
But going by findings published in Nature Partnering Journal Aging, the easily-harvested and widely-available wild fungi could be called magic for another reason: they appear to have anti-ageing properties.
According to Baylor College of Medicine and Emory University in the US, the active psychedelic compound in the mushroom, known as psilocybin, "may extend both cellular and organismal lifespans."
The team said that psilocybin "reduced multiple hallmarks of ageing in cells" and, depending on the dosages, "extended cellular lifespan up to 57%."
The researchers also carried out tests on mice that showed psilocybin improving survival in older rodents.
The mushrooms, and psilocybin in particular, have been shown to help depression patients and, but the physical effects outside the brain have gone uncharted.
According to the research team, there are around 150 studies ongoing or recently completed looking at psilocybin's potential to treat not only depression but also cognitive disorders such as dementia.
Last month, the American Cancer Society published findings of a second phase of tests that showed a "significant" reduction in depression among more than half of participants two years on from receiving a 25-milligram dose of psilocybin.
"Our findings suggest that psilocybin has potent effects on the entire body, including anti-ageing properties, which also may contribute to the plethora of observed beneficial clinical outcomes," said Louise Hecker, associate professor of medicine – cardiovascular research at Baylor.
"Our study provides the first experimental evidence demonstrating that psilocybin impacts hallmarks of ageing," the team said.
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