Apparently the virtues of maize have not been fully realized yet.
A group of scientists (Hang Wu, Yan Zhao, Yi Guo, Li Xu, Baolu Zhao) from China studied the effects of a tetrapeptide from maize (TPM), characterised by amino acids Leu-Asp-Tyr-Glu, on the worm Caenorhabditis elegans. Their results showed that TPM helped extend the lifespan of the worms when exposed to stress. Specifically, it extended their lifespan by 27.6% under oxidative stress, and by 36.9% under heat stress.
The effects were probably brought about by TPM’s role as a scavenger of reactive oxygen species, and by its ability to up-regulate the expression of stress resistance-associated genes (eg daf-16, sod-3, skn-1, ctl-1, ctl-2 and hsp-16.2).