An Anthocyanin- and Anti-Ageing Amino Acids-Enriched Pigmented Rice Innovation Promotes Healthy Ageing Through the Modulation of Telomere, Oxidative Stress and Inflammation Reduction: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Owing to the great demand for healthy ageing promotion, and the anti-ageing reputation of anthocyanins and amino acids, we aimed to assess the effect of anthocyanin- and anti-ageing amino acids-enriched pigmented rice innovation on age-related cognitive decline, facial wrinkles, and a cardiovascular risk, and explored its mechanisms and safety. A total of 90 male and female volunteers (45–65 years old) participated in a 3-arm randomized, double blinded, placebo-controlled parallel study for 12 weeks. They were randomly allocated to one of the following groups: placebo, “Zuper rice” (Zup) 2 g/day and “Zuper Rice” 4 g/day. Cognition, facial wrinkles, atherogenic index in plasma (AIP), telomere length, telomerase, oxidative stress and inflammatory markers, together with safety parameters, were assessed every 6 weeks until the end of the study and compared to the baseline data. A high dose of “Zup” improved cognition, facial wrinkles, AIP and oxidative stress, while a low dose of “Zup” improved cognition, telomere length, telomerase and inflammation. No toxicity signs were observed. Therefore, “Zup” is a potential healthy ageing promotion innovation which improves telomere length, telomerase activity and inflammation at a low dose, resulting in an improvement in cognitive decline and the suppression of oxidative stress. At a high dose, it gives rise to improvements in cognition, facial wrinkles and cardiovascular risk.