Plant-based strategies against aging: Focus on bioactive compounds from medicine-food homology plants

IF 6.7 1区医学 Q1 CHEMISTRY, MEDICINAL

Phytomedicine Pub Date : 2025-07-05 DOI:10.1016/j.phymed.2025.157052

Yun-Fei Zhu , An-Guo Wu , Meng-Yi Chen , Xing-Yue Zhou , Fei-Hong Huang , Long Wang , Lu Yu , Yong-Ping Wen , Da-Lian Qin , Jian-Ming Wu , Xiao-Gang Zhou

{"title":"Plant-based strategies against aging: Focus on bioactive compounds from medicine-food homology plants","authors":"Yun-Fei Zhu , An-Guo Wu , Meng-Yi Chen , Xing-Yue Zhou , Fei-Hong Huang , Long Wang , Lu Yu , Yong-Ping Wen , Da-Lian Qin , Jian-Ming Wu , Xiao-Gang Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.phymed.2025.157052","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>As a biologically intricate process, aging entails functional impairment and predisposes individuals to chronic conditions. Medicine-food homology (MFH) plants, deeply rooted in traditional Chinese medicine, are increasingly recognized for their potential to delay aging through natural bioactive compounds.</div></div><div><h3>Study Design</h3><div>We conducted a comprehensive review of 56 MFH plants with documented anti-aging effects, focusing on 83 identified bioactive compounds grouped into 14 chemical categories, including phenols, polysaccharides, glycosides, and proteins.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Relevant studies were retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar up to December 2024. Keywords included “aging,” “anti-aging,” “cellular senescence,” and the Latin names of MFH plants (<em>e.g., Astragalus membranaceus, Curcuma longa</em>). Inclusion criteria required experimental evidence of anti-aging activity using markers such as ROS, MDA, SA-β-gal, SOD, p16<sup>INK4a</sup>, and p21<sup>Waf1/Cip1</sup> across organisms ranging from yeast to mammals and <em>in vitro</em> systems were considered. Key signaling pathways involved were also analyzed.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Of the 156 MFH plants screened, 78 showed anti-aging potential, with 56 containing partially characterized active compounds. Phenols were the most prevalent, followed by polysaccharides and glycosides. These compounds primarily exerted effects by modulating oxidative stress and activating signaling pathways such as MAPK and DAF-16/FOXO. Less common constituents, such as carrier oils and naphthalene derivatives, also demonstrated notable efficacy. Clinical evidence supports the beneficial effects of certain MFH-derived compounds—such as curcumin and piperine—on skin aging, cognitive decline, and cardiovascular health.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>MFH plants offer a promising source of natural anti-aging agents. Their bioactive compounds target multiple aging-related pathways and show potential for development into functional foods or phytotherapeutics. To support their potential in aging-related therapies, it is imperative to conduct more in-depth mechanistic investigations alongside well-designed clinical trials that can substantiate their effectiveness and facilitate their translational application.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20212,"journal":{"name":"Phytomedicine","volume":"145 ","pages":"Article 157052"},"PeriodicalIF":6.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Phytomedicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944711325006919","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MEDICINAL","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

As a biologically intricate process, aging entails functional impairment and predisposes individuals to chronic conditions. Medicine-food homology (MFH) plants, deeply rooted in traditional Chinese medicine, are increasingly recognized for their potential to delay aging through natural bioactive compounds.

Study Design

We conducted a comprehensive review of 56 MFH plants with documented anti-aging effects, focusing on 83 identified bioactive compounds grouped into 14 chemical categories, including phenols, polysaccharides, glycosides, and proteins.

Methods

Relevant studies were retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar up to December 2024. Keywords included “aging,” “anti-aging,” “cellular senescence,” and the Latin names of MFH plants (e.g., Astragalus membranaceus, Curcuma longa). Inclusion criteria required experimental evidence of anti-aging activity using markers such as ROS, MDA, SA-β-gal, SOD, p16^INK4a, and p21^Waf1/Cip1 across organisms ranging from yeast to mammals and in vitro systems were considered. Key signaling pathways involved were also analyzed.

Results

Of the 156 MFH plants screened, 78 showed anti-aging potential, with 56 containing partially characterized active compounds. Phenols were the most prevalent, followed by polysaccharides and glycosides. These compounds primarily exerted effects by modulating oxidative stress and activating signaling pathways such as MAPK and DAF-16/FOXO. Less common constituents, such as carrier oils and naphthalene derivatives, also demonstrated notable efficacy. Clinical evidence supports the beneficial effects of certain MFH-derived compounds—such as curcumin and piperine—on skin aging, cognitive decline, and cardiovascular health.

Conclusions

MFH plants offer a promising source of natural anti-aging agents. Their bioactive compounds target multiple aging-related pathways and show potential for development into functional foods or phytotherapeutics. To support their potential in aging-related therapies, it is imperative to conduct more in-depth mechanistic investigations alongside well-designed clinical trials that can substantiate their effectiveness and facilitate their translational application.

Abstract Image

查看原文本刊更多论文

植物抗衰老策略：关注药食同源植物的生物活性化合物

作为一个复杂的生物学过程，衰老导致功能损伤并使个体易患慢性疾病。药食同源植物（MFH），深深植根于传统中医，因其通过天然生物活性化合物延缓衰老的潜力而日益受到认可。研究设计：我们对56种具有抗衰老作用的MFH植物进行了全面的回顾，重点研究了83种已确定的生物活性化合物，分为14类化学类别，包括酚类、多糖、苷类和蛋白质。方法检索截至2024年12月的PubMed、Scopus、Web of Science、b谷歌Scholar等相关文献。关键词包括“衰老”、“抗衰老”、“细胞衰老”和MFH植物的拉丁名称（如黄芪、姜黄）。纳入标准需要使用ROS， MDA, SA-β-gal， SOD， p16INK4a和p21Waf1/Cip1等标记物的抗衰老活性的实验证据，从酵母到哺乳动物和体外系统都被考虑在内。并分析了所涉及的关键信号通路。结果筛选的156株MFH植物中，78株具有抗衰老潜力，56株含有部分表征的活性物质。酚类是最普遍的，其次是多糖和糖苷。这些化合物主要通过调节氧化应激和激活信号通路如MAPK和DAF-16/FOXO发挥作用。不太常见的成分，如基础油和萘衍生物，也显示出显著的功效。临床证据支持某些mfh衍生化合物（如姜黄素和胡椒素）对皮肤老化、认知能力下降和心血管健康的有益作用。结论黄芪属植物是一种很有前景的天然抗衰老药物来源。它们的生物活性化合物针对多种与衰老相关的途径，并显示出开发成功能性食品或植物疗法的潜力。为了支持它们在衰老相关治疗中的潜力，有必要进行更深入的机制研究以及精心设计的临床试验，以证实它们的有效性并促进它们的转化应用。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Phytomedicine 医学-药学

CiteScore

10.30

自引率

5.10%

发文量

670

审稿时长

91 days

期刊介绍： Phytomedicine is a therapy-oriented journal that publishes innovative studies on the efficacy, safety, quality, and mechanisms of action of specified plant extracts, phytopharmaceuticals, and their isolated constituents. This includes clinical, pharmacological, pharmacokinetic, and toxicological studies of herbal medicinal products, preparations, and purified compounds with defined and consistent quality, ensuring reproducible pharmacological activity. Founded in 1994, Phytomedicine aims to focus and stimulate research in this field and establish internationally accepted scientific standards for pharmacological studies, proof of clinical efficacy, and safety of phytomedicines.