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A natural drug found in the soil of Easter Island could help people live longer and improve their memory in old age, scientists claim.

In tests in mice, the rapamycin drug halted the decline in brain function as the rodents aged, and offered hope that it could also treat depression.

Now scientists are planning to trial the 'holy grail of anti-ageing' in pet dogs, which they say will provide a more realistic test environment to predict how it would work on humans.

Scientists at the University of Washington in Seattle are planning to trial the drug in pet dogs, which they say will provide a more realistic test environment to predict how it would work on humans

The drug, rapamycin, is a bacterial by-product discovered in the shadows of the island's famous statues and is named after Rapa Nui, the Polynesian name for Easter Island.

It is already used in transplant patients to prevent organ rejection and several years ago, scientists in the journal Neuroscience, said it can improve learning and help treat cognitive decline.

In mice, it has been shown to extend the lives of mice by 13 per cent in females and nine per cent in males.

Due to the high costs, the compound's effect on lifespan has not yet been tested in people, according to a report by Erika Check Hayden in Nature.

A natural drug found in the soil of Easter Island (pictured) could help people live longer and improve their memory in old age, scientists claim

It comes with some major risks, however. For instance, the compound suppresses the immune system and makes patients vulnerable to any viruses and bacteria.

The existing version of the drug also increases the risk of cancer and would need to be modified before using in human trials.

However, researchers believe further research will lead them to similar - but less harmful - anti-therapies.

'Any compound has side effects of some sort; the question is what kind of side effects one can live with,' says Randy Strong, a gerontologist at the Barshop Institute told Nature.

Matthew Kaeberlein and Daniel Promislow at the University of Washington in Seattle propose to give low doses of rapamycin to dogs.

The researchers today invited experts in canine health and the biology to a meeting to discuss how to structure such a trial.

An initial trial would involve about 30 dogs, half of which would receive the drug.

They hope to test the drug in large dogs that typically live for eight to ten years, and will start giving rapamycin to the animals aged six to nine.

According to Nature, the trial could be completed in as little as three years, but researchers will know within months whether rapamycin proves effective.

Due to the high costs, the compound's effect on lifespan has not yet been tested in people. However, scientists hope it will allow people to live longer, with a better quality of life

Rapamycin is a bacterial by-product discovered in the shadows of Easter Island's famous statues. It is named after Rapa Nui, the Polynesian name for Easter Island