URATE AND ASCORBATE - THEIR POSSIBLE ROLES AS ANTIOXIDANTS IN DETERMINING LONGEVITY OF MAMMALIAN-SPECIES

Urate has been shown to be a major antioxidant in human serum and was postulated to have a biological role in protecting tissues against the toxic effects of O2 radicals and in determining the longevity of primates. This possibility has been tested by determining if the maximum lifespan potentials of 22 primate and 17 non-primate mammalian species are positively correlated with the concentration of urate in serum and brain per specific metabolic rate. The degree of protection a tissue has against O2 radicals apparently is proportional to antioxidant concentration per rate of O2 metabolism of that tissue. Ascorbate, another potentially important antioxidant in determining longevity of mammalian species, was also investigated using this method. The results show a highly significant positive correlation of maximum lifespan potential with the concentration of urate in serum and brain per specific metabolic rate. No significant correlation was found for ascorbate. Urate apparently is biologically active as an antioxidant and is involved in determining the longevity of primate species, particularly for humans and the great apes. Ascorbate appears to have played little or no role as a longevity determinant in mammalian species.