Trehalose Becomes Hot Ingredient to Drive Cosmeceutical and Neutraceutical Market - Has anti-aging functionality

Comments by J. C. Spencer

Trehalose continues to be in the news as an additive for foods and cosmetics.  Research is verifying that trehalose has a unique functionality for significant cell protection.  A common response to overcoming cell stresses is the increased storage of trehalose and glycogen.  Structure of glucose molecules, their bonds, and the angle of their bonds trigger specific positive function including benefits for diabetics and a number of neurodegenerative diseases including Huntington�s, Alzheimer�s, and Parkinson�s.

Glycogen is the storage form of glucose in animals and humans which is analogous to the starch in plants. Glycogen is synthesized and stored mainly in the liver and the muscles. Structurally, glycogen is very similar to amylopectin with alpha acetal linkages, however, it has even more branching and more glucose units are present than in amylopectin. Various samples of glycogen have been measured at 1,700-600,000 units of glucose. The structure of glycogen consists of long polymer chains of glucose units connected by an alpha acetal linkage. Trehalose is a non-reducing disaccharide consisting of two glucose molecules bonded by an [alpha], [alpha] - 1, 1 glycosidic link which is stable at low pH conditions.

One of the most interesting recent discoveries is the possible role of trehalose and telomeres.  Telomeres are the DNA-protein complexes at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes.  Telomeres are essential for maintaining genomic stability.  In the human body the telomeres keep getting shorter with age and when they reach a certain length, the cells cannot divide.

In my book Expand Your Mind - Improve Your Brain in Chapter 16 Rogue electrons: the enemy within, I say, �Damage to the DNA shortens the telomere.  The telomere is a structure containing a repeated DNA sequence found at both ends of every chromosome in the human body.  It was discovered in the 1990s that as a cell divides, the telomere keeps getting shorter.  When the telomere becomes a certain length, it sends a signal for the cell to no longer divide.