Mesaconic acid as a key metabolite with anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties produced by Lactobacillus plantarum 124 from centenarian gut microbiota

  • NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes. 2025 Aug 19;11(1):165. doi: 10.1038/s41522-025-00812-9.
Lei Wu  #  1  2 ,  Hongxin He  #  3 ,  Tingting Liang  #  2 ,  Guowei Du  #  1 ,  Longyan Li  #  2 ,  Haojie Zhong  #  1 ,  Ying Li  2 ,  Jinke Zhang  2 ,  Ning Chen  2 ,  Tong Jiang  2 ,  Juan Yang  2 ,  Jiangyan Wang  1 ,  Shuo Feng  1 ,  Shenghua Lu  1 ,  Hui Zhao  2 ,  Qihui Gu  2 ,  He Gao  2 ,  Guanghui Li  4 ,  Wenrui Xie  1 ,  Lihao Wu  1 ,  Qingping Wu  5 ,  Xinqiang Xie  6  7 ,  Xingxiang He  8
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Gastroenterology, Research Center for Engineering Techniques of Microbiota-Targeted Therapies of Guangdong Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China.
  • 2. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
  • 3. Sun Yat-sen University School of Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
  • 4. College of Light Industry and Food Technology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Lingnan Specialty Food Science and Technology, Academy of Contemporary Agricultural Engineering Innovations, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou, China.
  • 5. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China. [email protected].
  • 6. Department of Gastroenterology, Research Center for Engineering Techniques of Microbiota-Targeted Therapies of Guangdong Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China. [email protected].
  • 7. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China. [email protected].
  • 8. Department of Gastroenterology, Research Center for Engineering Techniques of Microbiota-Targeted Therapies of Guangdong Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China. [email protected].
  • # Contributed equally.
PMID: 40830109 DOI: 10.1038/s41522-025-00812-9
Abstract

The gut microbiota of centenarians plays a vital role in promoting healthy longevity. We performed a cross-sectional study of 224 people from Jiaoling, China, which is globally recognised for the longevity of its residents. Compared with younger people, centenarians showed significantly increased alpha-diversity, enrichment of the beneficial bacteria Lactobacillus, Akkermansia, and Christensenella, and increased redox capacity in the gut microbiota. Serum metabolomics of centenarians showed significant enrichment of antioxidant metabolites, including L-ascorbic acid 2-sulphate and lipoic acid. Finally, we isolated and screened a strain of Lactobacillus plantarum 124 (LP124) with a good antioxidant effect on the gut microbiota of centenarians. Animal experiments further verified that mesaconic acid from LP124 regulates the gut microbiota, is anti-inflammatory, relieves oxidative stress, maintains the intestinal barrier, and is the best-known Anti-aging molecule. LP124 derived from the gut microbiota of centenarians and its metabolite mesaconic acid, have a significant positive effect on health and longevity.

Products