What is spermidine?

Spermidine is currently a star. There is evidence that spermidine is supposed to help against COVID-19 – Christian Drosten and the Charité are doing research here. It is said to work against high blood pressure and even be life-extending. All this and much more is currently being investigated by research.

But what is this spermidine? Does that sound suspiciously like a bodily fluid? Let’s take a look at the chemistry behind the fabric and what has been clarified so far.

Spermandidine and sperm. Does that sound similar?

The name says it: Spermidine and sperm actually have a lot to do with each other. Spermidine is an intermediate in the formation of sperm. This in turn is contained in the male sperm. It is a nitrogen-containing base and is present in all living organisms and body cells.

This is not by chance, because cell growth is closely related to spermidine. But what exactly the spermidine does in the cells is not yet completely clear.

Spermidine is also present in countless foods. For example, while (cell-free) ejaculate contains 15 to 50 mg per litre, wheat germs per kilogram can contain five to sixteen times. Soybeans, maturechdar cheese or pumpkin seeds also have a very high content.

An organism with a faster metabolism also contains more spermidine. If the metabolism is slower, less spermidine is produced. With age, the concentration decreases accordingly.

As a young person growing, during pregnancy or after exercise, the spermidine value increases. This is also the case with the regeneration of red blood cells, after anaemia or loss, and after a long stay in the mountains. Also some diseases, such as inflammation, cause a higher spermidine content.

So it seems to regenerate or help the body.

Here are the indications why spermidine is spoken of as a “miracle drug”. Does it help you lose weight? Does it slow down the aging process?

Spermidine in research

If you are looking for spermidine, you will probably often find the “autophagy“. This is the process in the cells that breaks down the own components. In the context of spermidine, this mainly affects cardiomyocytes(heart muscle cells). This is precisely where research suggests that spermidine has positive effects. The same applies to age-related dementia.

Especially in cardiac function, at least in laboratory mice, it was already demonstrated that spermidine protects against cardiovascular diseases – it can contribute to life prolongation in these living beings. High blood pressure, cardiac aging and kidney function are all positively affectedin the animals.

An interesting study came from Austria, France and England in August 2018. In a 20-year study of 829 people, researchers found that people with higher spermidine intake (e.B. via food) had a lower risk of death than those of the same age with lower spermidine intake.

Because dementia treatment was mentioned briefly: In 2018, a study also found that spermidine can have a positive effect on memory performance.

In November 2019, experts met for exchange and found that there is a lot of therapeutic potential in spermidine. It could therefore be that supplementation from middle age would be an option. However, there is still a lack of studies and studies to adequately demonstrate these results. Therefore, there is no recommendation for everyday practice.

Special case Corona: spermidine and COVID-19

Anyone who has followed the news in Germany will have heard a name since the pandemic: Christian Drosten. Virologists of the Charité Berlin around Marcel Müller and him showed that lung cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 respond positively to spermidine. By injection, the viral load decreased by 85%.

In addition, a protective effect of spermidine has been demonstrated. Cells treated with spermidine before infection were better protected. Therefore, in April 2020, the researchers concluded that spermidine could potentially be used for therapy and prevention. However, there are still no meaningful studies in humans – not only on their cells – and whether the required spermidine concentration can also be guaranteed via oral intake.

So we have to wait and see.

Side Effects of Spermidine

In January 2018, a study on the tolerability of spermidine was also published. Researchers studied a dose of 1.2 mg per day in cognitively impaired people. They got the fabric well.

However, the usual doses to achieve an effect are many times higher. Therefore, there are currently no statementsas to what the compatibility at high doses looks like.

For this reason, there is still no approved spermidine-based medicine. However, there are currently dietary supplements.

Spermidine a miracle cure? Possibly.

Spermidine can become a star of medicine. It was precisely the possible effect of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) or cell aging that helped the substance in many media.

In any case, the indications are that spermidine supplementation may become completely normal in the future. At present, however, the research situation does not provide any more detail. Neither the dose, the use case or the method of use are currently fixed.

Especially on bioavailability (the absorption rate of the organism) there are no studies yet – here also one knows nothing.

We know what spermidine can possibly do. How we will use it in the future, not yet. In any case, the fabric has a lot of potential.