The project involved in the 863 Program is actually a study on the safety of functional food, and the purpose of the study is not to extend the life.
On December 5th, Weibo, the official website of Wang Laoji, announced that according to the research results of the National 863 Program, drinking Wang Laoji can prolong life span by 10%. After this statement was released, it was quickly questioned by netizens about the authenticity of the project and the scientific nature of its conclusions. Beijing Youth Daily reporter found that herbal tea brands such as Wang Laoji were indeed used as experimental objects in a sub-project of the 863 Program. However, according to the introduction of Guangzhou CDC, which participated in the project, the center has only done relevant experiments on rats, and it is not sure that the effect of "prolonging life" is also applicable to humans. Many experts in related fields said that there is no functional food, even medicine, that can claim to prolong human life by 10%.
Wang Laoji claims to prolong his life by 10%
On December 5th, a news about herbal tea Wang Laoji was widely spread on the Internet. Li Chuyuan, chairman of Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group, announced at a forum that the research results of the National 863 Program show that drinking Wang Laoji can prolong life by about 10%. But soon this news caused a lot of questions.
The first person who questioned this idea was the CEO of Huada Gene in the same industry. On the afternoon of the 5th, Weibo, the official of Wang Laoji, announced that Li Chuyuan, chairman of Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group, had a high-end interaction with Yin Ye, CEO of Huada Gene, and other guests at the China Medical Industry Forum. Li Dong said that "according to the research results of the National 863 Program, drinking Wang Laoji can prolong the life span by about 10%", which was immediately highly recognized by President Yin Ye of Shenzhen Huada Gene Co., Ltd. and warmly applauded by all the guests.
On the afternoon of 6th, Yin Ye, CEO of BGI, forwarded the Weibo and explained that the so-called "high recognition" was just a courtesy nod. He said: "Although I am in the same industry and drink Wang Laoji, it does not mean that I recognize this conclusion. The extension of human life span is a comprehensive issue, and so far no single factor can form such a significant difference. "
In addition to peers, many netizens have also left messages under Wang Laoji’s official Weibo, saying, "Believe in advertising, you can prolong your life by 100%, just give your brains.". Others questioned, "How is 10% calculated? So many health products in China didn’t dare to say that, and finally lost to a drink seller. ".
Previously, it was caught in the "life extension storm"
The reporter of Beiqing Daily found that this is not the first time that Wang Laoji claimed that he has the effect of prolonging his life. On June 13th, 2013, GPHL held a special press conference, saying that "Wang Laoji Herbal Tea has the function of prolonging animal life".
At the press conference, GPHL said, "Through a two-year safety test on 576 mouse samples, it was initially found that the survival rate of rats in the experimental group of Wang Laoji herbal tea was better than that of the control, indicating that Wang Laoji herbal tea has the function of prolonging animal life … …”
At that time, it was not long before Guangzhou Pharmaceutical officially recovered the brand of Wang Laoji, and the news about "Wang Laoji prolonging life" immediately caused widespread doubts. Some netizens said, "How long does it take to extend the life of animals to be scientifically verified? It was less than two years before Guangyao officially recovered Wang Laoji, and this magical result was actually measured! " Others ridiculed, "After Radix Isatidis, another dose ‘ Shenyao ’ Available. "
Despite the surging doubts, the relevant person in charge of Guangzhou Pharmaceutical firmly believed in the authenticity of the efficacy of prolonging life when interviewed by the media, and said that this was only a phased achievement, and the next step would be to continue research.
Sure enough, on January 6, 2016, Wang Laoji once again released a "breakthrough" scientific research achievement: according to national standards and US FDA standards, the three-year safety system study of the first herbal tea product in China showed that long-term drinking of Wang Laoji herbal tea could prolong the life of animals.
According to reports, this conclusion is the first herbal tea project in the National 863 Plan. Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as a scientific research unit, undertook the research on functional food safety evaluation factors.
"According to the requirements of national standards and American FDA standards, the research group conducted a two-year safety system study on mouse samples, and found that the survival number and expected average survival time of the experimental group of Wang Laoji herbal tea were higher than those of the control group. The statistical survival time of the experimental group of female rats given 2.90g/kg BW of Wang Laoji herbal tea was 708.2 days, while the statistical survival time of female rats in the control group was 675.1 days, which was 33.1 days higher. The difference was obvious, which proved that drinking Wang Laoji herbal tea for a long time could prolong the life of animals. At the same time, related research was carried out according to the human consumption rules of functional foods, and it was found that the physical examination indexes such as liver and kidney function, blood lipid classification and blood routine of the subjects, respiratory system, digestive system, urinary system and mood all improved to some extent, which proved that drinking Wang Laoji herbal tea for a long time had a positive effect on health. " Although specific data have been released, Wang Laoji’s function of "prolonging life" has not been widely recognized because the report only involves experiments related to rats.
As for the "life extension" storm, Wang Laoji responded on the evening of December 6 that the conclusion of life extension was obtained from 576 rat samples, and the relevant statements were basically consistent with the information released in 2016.
Survival rate is mainly used for safety verification.
On December 6, Huang Junming, director of the Institute of Health Toxicology of Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, admitted to the reporter of Beiqing Daily that the center had indeed participated in related 863 projects. "This project exists, and the project number is 2010aa023001. However, we only participated in the experiments of early rats and were not responsible for the human experiments. "
According to Huang Junming, the members of this 863 research group include several universities, several research institutions and many enterprises. At that time, it was a huge project, herbal tea was only one of the sub-items, and our team was responsible for part of the work.
He recalled the operation of the project to the reporter of Beiqing Daily. At that time, there were three herbal teas participating in the experiment. Among them, Jiaduobao and Wang Laoji’s experiments involved the survival rate of rats, both in red cans and green boxes. Another brand product does not involve this indicator. "Our animal experiments mainly focus on the safety of herbal tea, and the final survival rate of rats is an index to investigate the results." Huang Jun Ming said, "The experiments in which Jiaduobao and Wang Laoji participated were successful, and the animal survival rate reached the previous experimental design. The fact of the experiment was that the rats who used herbal tea lived longer than those who did not."
Huang Junming repeatedly stressed: "The survival rate is only the result of our experiment, not the purpose of the experiment. As to whether Wang Laoji has the function of prolonging life, I can’t give a conclusion. As for how the company publicizes, it is beyond our control. "
When asked about the funding of this scientific research project, Huang Junming said that all scientific research projects are supported by funds. In addition to the higher-level funding, all units that undertake the project also have inputs. "At that time, Wang Laoji, Jiaduobao and another herbal tea company provided strong support in terms of samples, materials, production, processing and experiments, which ensured the smooth progress of the project."
A staff member of the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that the research results released by Wang Laoji only mentioned about 10% of the experimental results, but did not provide specific experimental details and experimental data, and even the experimenters did not mention it. "The result is very vague and the words are unknown, so we are also verifying it further, but we are not responsible for this experimental result for the time being."
Expert: Herbal tea is not suitable for everyone.
Wang Fengzhong, deputy director of the Institute of Agricultural Products Processing, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that because rats and humans belong to different species, the conclusions obtained in rat experiments may not necessarily apply to humans.
Wang Fengzhong said that related efficacy tests often require a series of animal tests such as fruit flies, rats and monkeys, and finally human trials. Due to the complexity of human body structure, many ingredients that work on animals may have little effect on human body. "If we want to prolong human life by 10%, we need to prolong life by at least 30% in rat experiments."
Wang Fengzhong introduced that at present, there is no such thing as "prolonging life by 10%" in the related experiments of functional foods. "Now no one dares to say that it can improve human life span by 10%, and even drugs dare not claim to have such effects."
Wang Fengzhong said that herbal tea is not suitable for everyone to drink. "Every product has its optimal population, and it is impossible for a certain product to cure all diseases. Just as some people are allergic to eating eggs, herbal tea cannot be beneficial to everyone. "
Fan Zhihong, an associate professor at the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering of China Agricultural University, told the reporter of Beiqing Daily that to prove that Wang Laoji has a certificate of life extension, it is necessary to produce accurate research data. "The conclusion without data is unbelievable from my personal point of view", and there is no related research on whether it is vitamin drinks or energy drinks.
Fan Zhihong said that this kind of research on life extension needs to be followed for many years, and the sample is very large, and all kinds of mixed factors should be avoided, that is to say, other factors affecting life should be excluded to prove that only one factor has an impact.
Fan Zhihong said that she didn’t know much about the traditional Chinese medicine ingredients in the formula of Wang Laoji herbal tea, but as a high-sugar beverage, it was not suitable for everyone to drink. In addition, from the perspective of publicity, it is not appropriate to highlight the life-extending effect of products. Ordinary food cannot publicize its efficacy, even if herbal tea belongs to health care products, "prolonging life" is not among the efficacy of health care products.
The reporter of Beiqing Daily inquired from the website of china food and drug administration that the food and beverage branch of Guangzhou Wanglaoji Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., the parent company of Wanglaoji Herbal Tea, registered its products as plant drinks, which means that Wanglaoji Herbal Tea is a beverage and not a health care product.
According to the relevant provisions of the Technical Specification for Inspection and Evaluation of Health Foods (2003 edition) issued and implemented by the Ministry of Health in 2003, health foods with health claims can declare 27 functions such as enhancing immunity, antioxidation, assisting in improving memory, relieving physical fatigue and losing weight, which does not include the function of prolonging life.
Text/reporter Kong Lingqi Xiong Yingqi Zhang Yue