Study record
Conflicting rat spermidine drinking-water study (non-replication)
Median lifespan
Rattus norvegicus — Rat, drinking-water supplementation study Tier 6 · Single-lab animal lifespan verification: verified
1. Species / populationRat, drinking-water spermidine supplementation study
2. Exposure, route, schedule~3 mM spermidine in drinking water, continuous (same nominal concentration as the mouse study)
3. Comparator & durationUntreated/control drinking water; lifespan follow-up
4. Endpoint & numeric resultNo significant lifespan extension observed
5. What this study did NOT establishNon-replication of the mouse effect at this dose/species; does not itself disprove the mouse finding, and does not establish human relevance either way
Full record
| Intervention(s) | Spermidine |
| Species | Rattus norvegicus |
| Population | Rat, drinking-water supplementation study |
| Sample size | not specified in source animals verification: verified_2026-07-11 |
| Exposure | ~3 mM spermidine in drinking water — Continuous drinking-water supplementation (same nominal concentration as the mouse study) verification: verified_2026-07-11 |
| Comparator | Untreated/control drinking water |
| Duration | Lifespan follow-up |
| Endpoint | Median lifespan |
| Evidence tier | Tier 6 · Single-lab animal lifespan |
| What was NOT established | This is a negative/non-replicating finding at the species level, deliberately kept in the SAME evidence table as the positive mouse result (eisenberg-spermidine-mouse), not split into a separate 'limitations' page, per editorial policy. Does not establish that spermidine has no effect in any species/context -- only that this species/dose/study did not reproduce the mouse finding. |
Result values (as reported in sourcing brief)
| median lifespan change | No significant lifespan extension observed |
| interpretation | Did NOT reproduce the mouse lifespan-extension effect at the equivalent nominal concentration |
| verification | verification: verified_2026-07-11 |
Source citation
Verification status: verified This record was checked against its primary publication on 2026-07-11.Identifiers: PMID verified; DOI verified; PMC verified; trial registry ID not applicable. Record-level verification and identifier-level status are separate: a record can be fully verified against its primary publication while an identifier that does not apply to the study type — a trial registry ID for an animal study, for instance — is marked not applicable. No identifier is fabricated, and none is left in a “pending” state.
| program | Spermidine cross-species lifespan research |
| reported year | not recorded |
| pmid | 32285289 verified |
| doi | 10.1007/s11357-020-00193-1 verified |
| journal | GeroScience 2020 |
| pmc | PMC7287009 verified |
| authors | Sacitharan PK / (Sprague-Dawley rat study) |
| year | 2020 |
| verified date | 2026-07-11 |
| verified note | Spermidine in drinking water did NOT extend median OR maximum lifespan in middle-aged male Sprague-Dawley rats; healthspan (body weight, kidney/liver/heart morphology) improved — MATCHES. Species-specific contrast to Eisenberg mouse; belongs in SAME evidence table. |
| authors note | Exact author list not confirmed against record. |
| verification status | verified |
Funding / conflict of interest
not compiled in this proof-of-concept verification: verified_2026-07-11
Version 0.2.0-mvp · literature search date 2026-07-11 · editorial owner Nabus Research