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Carnosine as a Potential Anti-senescence Drug

S. Gallant1, M. Semyonova2, and M. Yuneva3*

1Zoetic Neurosciences Ltd., 4 Ivester Court, Wing Road, Leighton Buzzard, Beds, LU7 7NW, Great Britain; fax: 44-1525-85-0109; E-mail: steven.gallant@dial.pipex.com

2Department of Embriology, School of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119899 Russia; E-mail: msemenova@soil.msu.ru

3International Center for Biotechnology and Center of Molecular Medicine, Lomonosov Moscow State University (Department of Biochemistry), Moscow, 119899 Russia; fax: (095) 939-1398; E-mail: MYuneva@genebee.msu.su

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received December 20, 1999
The naturally occurring dipeptide carnosine (beta-alanyl-L-histidine) has been found to exert an anti-senescence effect when used as a dietary supplement. Carnosine clearly improved the external appearance of experimental animals and provided beneficial physiological effects, thus maintaining the animals in better condition than control animals receiving no carnosine or a mixture of beta-alanine and L-histidine.
KEY WORDS: aging, ROS, anti-senescence factors, carnosine, protein glycation