You may have read the title and assumed this blog was about sperm, or that we accidentally wrote the same word twice. The two words are nearly identical, but they name two distinct molecules. As you might guess, they were first found in sperm: Anton van Leeuwenhoek, the pioneer of microscopy, described crystals in dried human semen in 1678 and named them spermine and spermidine.
Spermine, Spermidine, and the Polyamine Pathway
Spermine and spermidine are two of the three polyamines, organic compounds with two or more amino groups found in the cells of every living organism, not just sperm. Alongside putrescine, they sit on a tightly regulated pathway, and keeping each one at the right concentration is essential for cellular homeostasis.
In order along that pathway, the polyamines are putrescine, spermidine, and spermine. As one review puts it, "the functions of [polyamines] depend on the cellular concentration of each," which is why the body works to hold those levels steady.
To maintain them, the cell constantly converts polyamines up and down the pathway. Putrescine is converted into spermidine by the enzyme spermidine synthase, which adds a propylamine group. Spermidine is then converted into spermine by spermine synthase, which adds another. Other enzymes remove those groups to keep each polyamine at its target level.
Polyamines are found everywhere because they take part in so many cellular processes, and the list keeps growing. They contribute to cell growth and division, and they help with transcription, translation, signaling, and post-translational modifications, meaning they help translate your DNA, the cell's instructions, into proteins. They also have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Spermidine in particular has been associated in research with healthy aging and longevity, and studies suggest it may support the body in ways connected to how we age.
Polyamines in Food
Your body gets polyamines from two main sources: it produces them internally, with help from your gut microbiota, and it absorbs them from food. Polyamines appear across all types of food in a wide range of concentrations. Spermidine is the main polyamine in plant-based foods, while spermine tends to be higher in animal-derived foods.
Because internally produced polyamine levels are known to decline with age, diet becomes a more important source over time, and research suggests that adding polyamines, spermidine in particular, may support health in a range of ways.
How much we take in from food, though, varies widely between countries and cuisines. There are no official intake recommendations, but Atiya Ali et al. proposed 540 μmol/day, an intake two to three times higher than even the highest-intake countries. Reaching that through diet alone is unlikely without some attention, but the effort is worthwhile.
Which Foods Contain the Most Spermine and Spermidine?
The richest dietary sources of polyamines include wheat germ, soybeans, mushrooms, and citrus fruits. Because everyday intake varies so widely from person to person, though, supplementation is often the most reliable way to reach higher spermidine levels.
With spermidine's growing reputation for supporting healthy aging, many spermidine supplements are now on the market, and as a supplement producer, we know their quality and formulation vary a great deal. We make Primeadine, a whole-food-derived spermidine supplement, and we hold it to exacting standards of sourcing and manufacturing. It also includes spermine, because no polyamine works alone.
The next time you are thinking about how to support your health, spermidine is worth considering, whether through spermidine-rich foods or a supplement like Primeadine. And no, despite the name, none of it actually involves sperm.
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