The Science

What is Weil Juvenon?
The Science Behind Weil Juvenon
The Free Radical Theory of Aging

What is Weil Juvenon?
Weil Juvenon Healthy Aging Support is a patented combination of natural micronutrients.* It was developed by a team of award-winning scientists at the University of California at Berkeley led by renowned geneticist and biochemist Dr. Bruce Ames. His team is actively investigating the relationship between diet, maintaining healthy cells, and the aging process. Dr. Ames' research focuses on the links between aging and tiny structures inside cells called mitochondria, the powerhouses of our cells, the biological engines that convert carbohydrates, fats and proteins into the energy used by the entire body.
Aging mitochondria are less efficient at converting fuel to energy, and they can produce more unwanted oxidants. Efficient mitochondria keep our cells healthy.
In pre-clinical tests, Dr. Ames and an award-winning team of University scientists discovered that by using the right combination of a natural, energy-boosting component (acetyl L-carnitine) and a powerful antioxidant (alpha-lipoic acid) they could maintain the health of mitochondria, effectively slowing the cellular aging process.* The result of their studies is Weil Juvenon Healthy Aging Support, a remarkable cellular health supplement patented by UC Berkeley. Juvenon has an overall effect of promoting a healthier, more energetic body. It is particularly effective in protecting tissue from toxic oxidants, normal byproducts of the aging process that can increase with daily stress-producing activities and exercise, as well as the natural aging process.*

The Science Behind Weil Juvenon
Research has shown that the decay of the mitochondria is an important factor in aging. Mitochondria are the organelles within the cell that convert amino acids, fatty acids and sugars into the energy our bodies need. Research performed by Juvenon scientists as well as others has demonstrated that as we age, the efficiency of the mitochondria diminishes, as does their quantity per cell. The resulting effect is a body that begins operating at one-half to even one-fourth the energy it had at youth. The brain consumes more energy than any other organ in the body, and is perhaps the most important organ affected by aging. A decrease of energy in the brain and central nervous system affects mental acuity and mood as well as the activities of all organs throughout the body.
Weil Juvenon Support for Health and Aging is a supplement of natural substances the body normally manufactures at sufficient levels for maximum health in youth but in insufficient quantities as we age. Weil Juvenon's natural health supplements are a patented formula of normal mitochondrial metabolites. Laboratory experiments have shown that this composition of supplements helps maintain mitochondrial function as cells age, by:

• Maintaining the membrane potential*
• Promoting metabolism and cell function*
• Enhancing anti-oxidative protection*
• Promoting cellular health*.

Stimulation of Support Function
Weil Juvenon for Health and Aging contains a compound proven to stimulate the synthesis of cardiolipin, a key component of the mitochondria. Cardiolipin is a phospholipid that is required, along with specific transport enzymes, to maintain the potential and overall integrity of the mitochondrial membrane. The membrane potential is the result of the separation of charge between the inner and outer surface of the membrane, a process that requires energy-driven pumps to move charge against a gradient. A young, healthy mitochondrion (one that contains sufficient cardiolipin) operates with a maximum membrane potential and therefore has maximum energy producing potential. The Weil Juvenon composition also activates the delivery of high-energy food-derived products into the mitochondria, where they are transformed into a specific chemical form of energy (ATP). This captured energy is used to fuel the cellular machinery for activities such as muscle contraction and neurotransmission.
The Weil Juvenon compound is also structurally similar to an endogenous neurotransmitter. This can contribute to the reported beneficial effects to the nervous system like enhanced memory, elevated mood, enhanced mental acuity, and more sound sleep.
Promotion of Cellular Antioxidants
Weil Juvenon’s patented composition contains substances to maintain healthy cells. Juvenon scientists have demonstrated and documented the production of cell-damaging oxidants in body tissues under normal physiological conditions. The bulk of these oxidants can be controlled or neutralized by cellular antioxidants, but a portion of these toxic oxidants invariably escape this defense and survive to contribute to the aging process. Furthermore, as the body ages the antioxidant defense becomes less, as a consequence of accumulated damage negatively affecting the efficiency of the cells’ defense-building enzymes.
To address this concern Weil Juvenon has included a compound containing two important properties. First, working in concert with the compound described above, the Weil Juvenon supplement plays a critical role in assisting the conversion of food into energy. Secondly, it provides protection to the cell from damaging oxidants, including the highly reactive substances known as free radicals. Free radicals are the chemical by-products produced during the burning of food to form energy. They are extremely toxic to the cell because they oxidize and distort its vital components. This constituent of the Weil Juvenon product is an amphipathic substance, meaning that it is both water and lipid soluble. As such, it can penetrate and protect lipid containing cell membranes as well as water soluble cell components. Another key characteristic of this multi-functional compound is its ability to be regenerated to an active form, within the cell, after reacting with and neutralizing an oxidant. It can literally provide protection from oxidants to all of the cell components. In addition to being an antioxidant, it helps maintain a high membrane potential by acting on other cellular antioxidants, including vitamins C and E, and glutathione, to keep them fully charged for maximum cellular protection from oxidants.
As perhaps the most potent of the natural cellular antioxidants, it is very easily oxidized due to its low redox potential. This makes the Weil Juvenon compound a more attractive substance for the radical to attack, sparing the vital cell structures from destruction. Listed below are some of the specific beneficial effects observed at the cellular level:

• Maintaining a high membrane potential*
• Maintaining optimum metabolic activity*
• Increasing energy production*
• Reducing the level of free radicals*

The Free Radical Theory of Aging
The mitochondrial or free radical theory of aging has received a great increase in recognition during the last 20 years. A basic foundation of this theory is that the fundamental changes associated with the aging process are the cumulative result of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are normal by-products of aerobic life. Physical exercise is an integral part of daily life leading to prominent biophysical changes which occur during exercise, including: an increased metabolic rate, an enhanced rate of mitochondrial respiration, and oxidative phosphorylation.
“During maximal muscular contraction in men, it has been estimated that oxygen consumption can be as much as 100 times the resting level for local muscle fibers and 20 times for the whole body. This high rate of oxygen flux may lead to increased electron "leakage" found at the resting condition and poses an oxidative stress to the mitochondria and other critical cellular organelles” [1]. During aging, the skeletal muscle is under increasing oxidative stress. This is evidenced by higher levels of lipid peroxidation and antioxidant defense in these aging muscles.
The theory expands on the idea that the mitochondria are the major source of toxic oxidants, which have the potential of reacting with and destroying cell constituents and which accumulate with age. The result of this destructive activity is an inefficient cell and a body that more readily displays signs of age (wrinkled skin, low energy level). The gradual loss of energy experienced with age is paralleled by a decrease in the ratio of mitochondria per cell, as well as the health and energy-producing efficiency of those remaining mitochondria.
Jenkins, RR and Goldfarb, A. Introduction: oxidant stress, aging, and exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1993 Feb;2(2) :210-2