Spermidine boosted COVID vaccines in older adults
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- Spermidine, a compound found in wheat germ, mushrooms, parmesan, and cheddar, improved antibody responses in older adults who initially responded poorly to COVID-19 vaccination, according to a pilot study published in Aging Cell.
- Dr. Katja Simon of the Max Delbrück Center and Dr. Ghada Alsaleh of Oxford's NDORMS led the trial of 40 healthy adults aged 65 and older, who took 6 mg of spermidine or a placebo daily for 13 weeks following their third COVID-19 vaccine dose.
- About one quarter of participants produced very weak antibody responses even after three vaccine doses, and their immune cells showed distinct signs of biological aging including greater DNA damage and markers of cellular senescence.
- Spermidine-treated nonresponders developed higher antibody levels against SARS-CoV-2 and stronger neutralizing activity against several viral variants, alongside reduced immunosenescence markers and increased autophagy.
- The supplement was safe and well tolerated with no adverse effects reported, though researchers caution the 40-person pilot is early evidence and larger trials are needed to confirm the effect and test it with influenza vaccines.
- Dr. Simon emphasized that the study was designed as a pilot and that 'larger studies will be needed to determine whether spermidine can consistently improve vaccine responses.'
Why it matters: Roughly one in four adults over 65 in the trial mounted weak antibody responses even after three COVID-19 vaccine doses, a group that researchers linked to measurable cellular aging. If larger trials confirm the effect, an inexpensive dietary supplement could offer a low-risk way to close that immunity gap for older adults and potentially extend the benefit to seasonal flu vaccination.
