ThorneVet Longevity Complex is a cutting-edge animal health supplement that combines powerful ingredients that beneficially influence the body’s longevity pathways and promote healthy aging in companion animals. Its ingredients synergistically balance the body’s inflammatory processes, while reducing oxidative stress, in addition to providing key nutritional support for the veterinary cancer patient.
There are multiple ways to incorporate Longevity Complex into your pet’s health care. ThorneVet’s Longevity Complex can
be used in preventative fashion to maintain health, promote vitality, and ward off disease. Longevity Complex can also be
used as part of a comprehensive protocol in treating metabolic disorders, as well as immune system disorders, including
autoimmune diseases and cancer.
Key Features-
-Contains nicotinamide riboside, the most bioavailable and efficient precursor to NAD+, which is necessary for
up-regulating the activity of the sirtuin proteins.
-The formula’s synergistic combination of polyphenol compounds – resveratrol, quercetin, curcumin, and green
tea extract – beneficially influence the longevity pathways that promote healthy aging.
-The carotenoid astaxanthin provides potent antioxidant support.
-Includes the important amino acid taurine – which has been shown to enhance longevity in animals.
Quercetin
Quercetin (saphora japonica) is a polyphenol flavonoid – more specifically a flavonol – that is found in many fruits and vegetables, including onions, grapes, berries,
broccoli, seeds, nuts, and citrus fruits. More than 6,000 flavonoids have been identified in the plant world – with quercetin being the most abundant one. Like
curcumin, quercetin by itself is not very bioavailable. For this reason, Longevity Complex also utilizes Indena’s phytosome technology to enhance quercetin’s
absorption and bioavailability – quercetin is complexed with lecithin, a readily absorbed phospholipid derived from sunflower. Indena’s proprietary phytosome
delivery system results in the enhanced absorption of quercetin because as the body is readily absorbing the naturally absorbable lecithin, it will also absorb the
quercetin that is complexed with the lecithin. In a human study, Indena’s Quercetin phytosome demonstrated 20-times better absorption than unbound quercetin.
The beneficial effects of quercetin are well documented. Quercetin displays potent antioxidant activity, in addition to inflammatory response, immune function,
neuro-protective, and anti-aging benefits.9
Just as in humans, the natural aging of companion animals causes molecular, cellular, and physiological changes in the body – with most of these changes being
negative. And although an animal’s genetic makeup plays a significant role in aging, non-genetic changes also occur because of the animal’s daily environment
– changes in the body caused by lifestyle, nutrition, physical activity, obesity, illness, and exposure to pollutants and toxins. These non-genetic changes can
contribute as much as 70 percent of the factors that cause adverse expressions of aging. It is these non-genetic changes that allow for multiple pathways of positive
interventions that can be implemented that promote and enhance longevity and healthy aging.
Although an in-depth discussion of the body’s longevity pathways is beyond the scope of this Product Information Sheet, some understanding of these pathways is
helpful to understand how supplementation with specific nutrients can beneficially impact longevity and healthy aging.
For example, cellular energy is produced in the mitochondria in the body’s cells. This energy production pathway is critical for every life process – in humans and
animals alike. One very important process of this pathway is the production of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide – or NAD+. Newly produced NAD+ in the
mitochondria becomes the fuel for the parts of the cell that produce cellular energy. It is because of its supportive role in cellular energy production that NAD+ is
now recognized as having multiple pro-longevity, healthy aging effects.
For example, as the level of NAD+ increases within the cells, its increase is detected by the sirtuin proteins – a family of signaling proteins involved in regulating
metabolism. The beneficial activities of the sirtuin proteins are dependent on NAD+ being present – because NAD+ acts as a co-factor with these proteins. The
sirtuin proteins undertake multiple beneficial roles, including controlling gene expression, repairing DNA, down-regulating oxidative stress, and making new cells.
Conversely, when the activities of the sirtuin proteins slow down, it can lead to tissue-specific degenerative events that underlie multiple adverse health conditions
related to aging.1
The most important of the sirtuin proteins is Sirt1. Sirt1 exerts beneficial effects on metabolic pathways, cell survival, cellular senescence (the destruction of worn-
out cells), and the body’s inflammatory response. In addition, the optimal presence of Sirt1 is believed to inhibit the progression of pulmonary, neurodegenerative, and
cardiovascular disorders.2
Polyphenol Compounds
Polyphenols are potent bioactive compounds – found extensively in plants – that have multiple health-promoting properties. The benefits of polyphenols include
antioxidant activity and immune function support, as well as balancing the body’s inflammatory response and the gut’s microbiome.3 Longevity Complex incorporates
a synergistic blend of multiple polyphenol compounds that balance the body’s inflammatory response, boost its antioxidant capacity, promote metabolic health, and,
when needed, provide substantial nutritional support to the veterinary cancer patient.
ThorneVet’s Longevity Complex includes the most bioavailable precursor to NAD+ production – Nicotinamide Riboside. Longevity Complex also includes three
potent polyphenolic compounds – Resveratrol, Quercetin, and Curcumin – as well as potent green tea catechins, the antioxidant Astaxanthin, and a supplemental
amino acid – Taurine. These ingredients work synergistically to up-regulate the activity of the entire sirtuin protein family, with the accompanying benefits from
balancing the body’s inflammatory processes, promoting healthy aging and longevity, and, in the situation of the veterinary cancer patient, providing substantial
support for healing and recovery.
Trans-Resveratrol
Resveratrol – a polyphenol naturally found in grapes, blueberries, red wine, and peanuts – has multiple beneficial bioactivities, including antioxidant, inflammatory
response, and immune-support activity, as well as providing nutritional support in cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders.4 Numerous studies show
resveratrol’s importance in promoting healthy aging through suppressing oxidative stress, balancing inflammatory responses, improving mitochondrial function, and
up-regulating programmed cell death (apoptosis).5,6 Resveratrol also up-regulates Sirt1, which can then exert its many beneficial effects on the multiple pathways
noted above – with the end result being enhanced longevity and healthy aging.
Longevity Complex uses Evolva’s Veri-te Trans-resveratrol, the most biologically active form of resveratrol, which is produced by fermentation processes, thus
eliminating the use of solvents and increasing the ingredient’s purity and potency.
Curcumin
Curcumin is a bioactive curcuminoid that comes from the rhizomes of turmeric, a flowering plant in the ginger family. In addition to being used for thousands of years
as a culinary spice, curcumin is also utilized for its many health-promoting benefits. Because curcumin by itself is poorly absorbed in the body, Longevity Complex
contains Indena S.p.A’s Curcumin Phytosome – CurcuVET® – to ensure the highest bioavailability of this potent curcuminoid. Indena S.p.A., headquartered in
Milan, Italy, is the world’s leading company dedicated to the identification, development, and production of high-quality, bioactive constituents derived from plants.
Curcumin exerts many beneficial effects across various organ systems in the body. In addition to being a potent antioxidant, Curcumin exerts significant benefit in
maintaining a balanced inflammatory response in the body.7 Like its co-ingredient nicotinamide riboside, Curcumin Phytosome is included in Longevity Complex
because of its ability to up-regulate the activity of Sirt1, thus promoting the body’s natural ability to eliminate worn out cells, as well as improving mitochondrial
function, enhancing cellular energy production, and reducing oxidative damage.8Green Tea Extract
Green tea has been consumed for centuries in Asian cultures for its health-promoting properties. Multiple compounds in green tea are responsible for its beneficial
properties. The flavonoid polyphenols in green tea – called catechins – are the most extensively studied. Clinical studies confirm the inflammatory response and
antioxidant benefits of green tea polyphenols – benefits that are the cornerstone of green tea extract’s health-promoting properties.
To ensure the highest concentration of standardized catechins, Longevity Complex uses Indena S.p.A’s Green Tea Phytosome (GreenSelect®), thus increasing the
bioavailability of green tea’s beneficial bioactive constituents.
Nicotinamide Riboside Malate
As described in the Introduction, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is a critical coenzyme necessary to generate cellular energy inside the mitochondria,
as well as being an essential cofactor in the metabolic reactions that up-regulate the sirtuin proteins. NAD+ has a positive influence on multiple cellular functions,
including metabolic pathways, DNA repair, cellular senescence, and immune cell function. These cellular functions are necessary for maintaining the body’s metabolic
balance (homeostasis) – a key component of healthy aging.10
Just as in humans, an animal’s NAD+ level declines with aging, and this change is associated with many age-related adverse health conditions, including cognitive
decline, metabolic disorders, sarcopenia (muscle wasting), and frailty. It is now thought that many aging-associated conditions can be slowed down, and possibly even
reversed, by maintaining or restoring NAD+ to an optimal level.10
In 2004, it was discovered that nicotinamide riboside is a highly efficient precursor of NAD+ because the least amount of bodily energy is needed to produce NAD+
when nicotinamide riboside is present. Accumulating evidence on the health benefits of nicotinamide riboside is being validated by numerous animal and human
studies analyzing its positive impact on various cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, and metabolic conditions.11 Supplementation with nicotinamide riboside increases
the level of NAD+ in multiple tissues, concurrent with an increased activity of the sirtuin proteins, improved mitochondrial function, and regenerative stem cell
potential.11
The nicotinamide riboside ingredient in Longevity Complex is nicotinamide riboside hydrogen malate. This ingredient is exclusive to ThorneVet and is a unique form
of nicotinamide riboside. ThorneVet sources its nicotinamide riboside malate from a European supplier, and ThorneVet is the only animal health product company in
the United States using this unique form of nicotinamide riboside in a companion animal health supplement. Nicotinamide riboside malate is nicotinamide riboside
bound to hydrogen malate salt, an organic acid that can also participate in cellular energy production, thus further supporting nicotinamide riboside’s cellular energy
production capability.
Astaxanthin
Astaxanthin, a ketocarotenoid, is a potent antioxidant that can cross the blood-brain barrier. Astaxanthin has the greatest antioxidant capacity among the 730
known carotenoids – more than beta carotene, lycopene, and lutein. Astaxanthin is initially produced by microalgae and phytoplankton in the oceans which, after it is
consumed, it works its way up the food chain to eventually become the source of the deep pink color of ocean fish, like salmon. Due to its unique chemical structure,
astaxanthin acts as a scavenger of free radicals in the internal membrane layer of the cell, while simultaneously inhibiting oxidation on the outside surface of the cell
membrane – effectively protecting both the inside and the outside of the cell membrane.
These characteristics are the main reasons for astaxanthin’s exceptional antioxidant capacity, which is approximately 10 times more effective than beta-carotene
or lutein and about 100 times greater than alpha-tocopherol.
12 In addition to directly inhibiting free radicals, astaxanthin indirectly inhibits oxidative damage by
activating several beneficial genes linked to longevity and healthy aging. Furthermore, new research reveals that astaxanthin enhances the production of new
mitochondria. Astaxanthin exerts multiple benefits on the body’s longevity pathways; for example, Astaxanthin beneficially interacts with Sirt1, thus promoting longevity by
moderating inflammatory responses, reducing oxidative stress, and promoting optimal mitochondrial function.
Longevity Complex uses a superior astaxanthin ingredient – from AstaReal®. AstaReal’s astaxanthin is derived from the microalgae Haematococcus pluvalis, a
fresh-water unicellular microalgae (like Chlorella and Spirulina); therefore, it is plant-based and vegetarian friendly. AstaReal’s astaxanthin has been studied in more
than 70 published clinical trials. An excellent description of AstaReal’s astaxanthin ingredient, and its many benefits for health and longevity can be found at astareal.
Taurine, an abundant amino acid in all living organisms, is involved in a wide variety of life processes. Early studies showed that an optimal taurine concentration
correlated with good health – more recent studies have found the body’s level of taurine naturally declines with aging. A 2023 study published in Science reveals
that in both mice and monkeys, taurine supplementation improves both life span and health span. Investigations into the mechanisms of action by which taurine
supplementation improves the health span and life span reveal that taurine positively affects several hallmarks of aging. For example, taurine reduces cellular
senescence, protects against telomerase deficiency, suppresses mitochondrial dysfunction, decreases DNA damage, and balances the body’s inflammatory
response.13
