22'nd update on fly longevity experiments

Doug Skrecky (oberon@vcn.bc.ca)
Thu, 25 Jun 1998 02:17:17 -0700 (PDT)

This is the 22'nd update on my fly longevity experiments. The flies I
used in the nineth run were quite old and decrepit before I ever started
the run. Instead of flying, these "flies" mostly just walked slowly when
aroused. Using older pre-aged flies is a good idea during the winter when
low temperatures slow fly aging and prolong my runs to over 2 months.
However during the summer old flies can die too fast, as witness the
results with Hawthorn 4X. This increased lifespan in the eighth run, but
this time around the flies died so fast they never had a chance to be
exposed to this supplement. The poor result with Hawthorn 8X, I attribute
to toxicity attendant to overdosing. I will have to redo the Hawthorn 4X
dosage sometime to confirm its effect.
Of the supplements tested on this run only the low dosage of Orris root
looks mildly interesting. It exceeded the survival of both control
bottles at all time points.
In the meantime I will push on and test other supplements with my
milk-bottles-on-a-card-table experiments. Thus far of the over than 100
different supplements I have tested, I have as yet come across no big
winners that dramatically extend fly lifespan. One always lives in hope.

Nineth Run NUMBER PERCENTAGE SURVIVAL ON DAY
Supplement OF FLIES 7 12 17 19 24 27
_____________________________________________________________
Cntl 1 17 29% 24% 12% 6% 0 -
Cntl 2 25 44 32 16 12 0 -
Horseradish 7 29 0 - - - -
Horseradish 4X 6 0 - - - - -
Hawthorn 4X 7 0 - - - - -
Hawthorn 8X 6 50 33 0 - - -
Myrrh 6 17 17 0 - - -
Myrrh 4X 5 60 20 20 20 0 0
Orange peel 7 29 14 0 - - -
Orange peel 4X 8 13 13 0 - - -
Orris root 8 50 38 38 25 0 -
Orris root 4X 7 29 14 0 - - -
Pepper (white) 7 57 43 0 - - -
Pepper (white) 4X 8 13 13 0 - - -
Peppermint leaves 7 57 43 14 0 - -
Peppermint leaves 4X 9 56 44 0 - - -
Saffron 9 33 33 0 - - -
Saffron 4X 14 29 21 0 - - -
Sasparilla 8 38 25 13 0 - -
Sasparilla 4X 7 29 14 0 - - -
Savory 8 25 13 13 13 13 0
Savory 4X 11 64 64 9 0 - -
Senna 10 60 30 10 10 0 0
Senna 4X 10 70 30 10 10 0 0

Tenth Run
Cntl 1
Cntl 2
Allspice: 1/16 Tsp
Allspice 4X: 1/4 Tsp
Ephedrine: 6 mg (75 mg Nutrion Health & Fitness ephedra extract)
Ephedrine 4X: 24 mg (300 mg ephedra extract)
Henna: 1/16 Tsp
Henna 4X: 1/4 Tsp
Licorice Root: 1/16 Tsp
Licorice Root 4X: 1/4 Tsp
Mahlab: 1/16 Tsp
Mahlab 4X: 1/4 Tsp
Mango: 1/16 Tsp
Mango 4X: 1/4 Tsp
Marjoram: 1/16 Tsp
Marjoram 4X: 1/4 Tsp
Methyl-sulfonyl-methane: 62.5 mg (MSM is a stable DMSO metabolite)
MSM 4X: 250 mg
MSM 16X: 1000 mg
Royal Jelly: 125 mg (Montana brand - in a base of rice powder)
Royal Jelly 4X: 500 mg