According to https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/gee-research/tag/nematode/ “The anti-ageing properties of Metformin appear to be two-fold. By activating AMPK, Metformin may mediate life extension through its influences on key signalling pathways, essentially mimicking dietary restriction. Secondly, Metformin alters folate metabolism in microbial symbionts, reducing methionine production and again mimicking a restricted diet. Importantly, in the absence of the gut microbes, the drug showed strongly toxic effects, indicating that in some way, E.coli is able to ameliorate the drug’s toxicity. The effect of the drug Metformin is the result of a complex interplay between both toxic and beneficial effects on the host and the gut microbiota. Finally, all of this appears to interact with the diet of the nematode – feeding nematodes on a high-sugar diet eliminated the positive effects of Metformin.”
According to http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23900241 “At a molecular level, metformin increases AMP-activated protein kinase activity and increases antioxidant protection, resulting in reductions in both oxidative damage accumulation and chronic inflammation.”
