Coffee can have benefits for the body as you age. Specifically, harmol, a compound from the beta-carboline family present in this drink, improves skeletal muscle function and some metabolic parameters associated with quality of life during aging. This has been confirmed by a study led by the Imdea Food Institute, published in the journal Nature Communications.

Treatment with harmol significantly extended lifespan in two invertebrate models, the research indicates. Furthermore, it improved glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, and hepatic lipid accumulation in a prediabetes model.

Also, among the changes at the neuromuscular level, a significant reduction in frailty was observed in older animals treated with harmol, the institute said in a statement.

The harmol is present in many foods such as meat, fish or cereals, as well as in coffee beans. At the doses used in the study, this substance did not show any toxicity and had few effects on the central nervous system, due to its poor ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and therefore reach the brain.

It also has effects on muscle aging, associated with an energetic collapse that is explained by an alteration in the mitochondria, responsible for the energy production of the cells. Mitochondrial dysfunction causes the appearance and progressive functional deterioration associated with the loss of muscle mass and power that occurs during aging (sarcopenia).

This same dysfunction is related to the geriatric frailty syndrome, which affects more than 33% of the population over 80 years of age. This is characterized by a reduced ability to respond to minor stresses and decreases the autonomy of those who suffer from it, which translates into a greater risk of disability or health problems.

The harmol, present in coffee, activates signaling pathways in cells that, ultimately, are capable of improving mitochondria and metabolic parameters associated with quality of life during aging.

The main person in charge of the project, Pablo J. Fernández-Marcos, highlighted an interesting aspect of the study to EuropaPress: “With harmol we have discovered that this mitochondrial improvement effect is carried out by cells through mechanisms similar to those that make us feel more happy, since they share the same target proteins. This opens up a very interesting field of research on the association between psychological state and aging.”