Advances and challenges in screening traditional Chinese anti-aging materia medica

To provide a better service for senior health care, we summarized screening studies of traditional Chinese anti-aging materia medica (TCAM). We collected and analyzed literature of TCAM screening studies using the lifespan test and animal models of aging from 1984 to 2012. We found 26 screening methods for TCAM, and 153 single herbs or active ingredients of TCAM that have been screened out during the past 28 years. The cell lifespan test, the fruit fly lifespan test, and D-galactose aging model were the most widely used and intensively studied screening methods. However, the method for establishing the D-galactose aging model needs to be standardized, and the D-galactose aging model cannot completely be a substitute for the normal aging mouse model. Great success has been achieved in screening studies in TCAM. To further improve screening studies in TCAM, we suggest that the D-galactose aging model be incorporated into the lifespan test in the New Drugs of Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Guide.