ORPHEA is a preclinical study whose primary goal is to promote healthy aging and prevent age-related cognitive decline. Aging is an universal condition promoted by environmental and genetic factors that affects most living organisms and limits their lifespan. It represents both an economic and a psychosocial burden for the entire society and the finding of new solutions able to slow down its progression is a main aspect of current research. Aging is mainly characterized by the progressive loss of physiological and cognitive functions due to inflammatory and oxidative processes. Recently, gut dysbiosis and alterations of the gut-brain axis signaling were indicated as crucial factors in aging progression. 

The Orphea project aims at evaluating the anti-aging effects of a new synbiotic formulation made of probiotic bacteria and gamma-oryzanol in a well-established mouse model of accelerated aging (Senescence Accelerated Mouse-Prone 8, SAMP8).