A natural product solution to aging and aging-associated diseases
Chuanbin Yang1, Wei Zhang2, Xiaoduo Dong2
1Department of Geriatrics, Shenzhen People's Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University; The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), Shenzhen 518020, Guangdong, China.
Pharmacology & Therapeutics
|September 14, 2020
Summary
Aging is a natural process linked to diseases, but interventions can extend healthspan. Natural products offer promising biochemical pathways and drug development strategies to combat aging and related illnesses.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology and Molecular Biology
- Pharmacology and Natural Products Chemistry
Background:
- Aging is a natural biological process associated with physiological decline and increased susceptibility to diseases like cancer and neurological disorders.
- Despite aging's inevitability, interventions can delay disease onset, progression, and extend healthspan and lifespan.
- Natural products, with their diverse chemical structures and historical medicinal use, are crucial in aging research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review molecular pathways underlying aging and their relevance to anti-aging drug development.
- To explore the role of natural products as inspiration for identifying aging targets and developing therapeutic strategies.
- To discuss how natural product scaffolds inform drug engineering for aging interventions.
Main Methods:
- Review of decades of research on molecular aging pathways.
- Analysis of natural products and their derivatives in aging research.
- Examination of mechanisms of action and functional scaffolds derived from natural products.
Main Results:
- Natural products have been instrumental in identifying key molecular components and pathways involved in aging.
- Understanding natural product mechanisms provides insights into cellular processes affected by aging.
- Functional scaffolds and targeting mechanisms from natural products can guide the development of optimized anti-aging drugs.
Conclusions:
- Natural products serve as a vital resource for understanding aging mechanisms and developing novel anti-aging therapies.
- Drug engineering strategies inspired by natural products hold significant potential for extending healthspan and lifespan.
- Natural products may offer a viable solution for addressing aging and age-associated diseases.
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