The Anti-Aging Effects of Polyphenols: The Mitochondrial Perspective

first_page Download PDF settings Order Article Reprints Font Type: Arial Georgia Verdana Font Size: Aa Aa Aa Line Spacing:    Column Width:    Background: Open AccessAbstract The Anti-Aging Effects of Polyphenols: The Mitochondrial Perspective † by Tamara MaksimovićTamara Maksimović SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 1,2,*, Alexandra MiocAlexandra Mioc SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 1,2 and Codruța ȘoicaCodruța Șoica SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 1,2 1 Department of Pharmacology-Pharmacotherapy, Faculty of Pharmacy, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square, No. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania 2 Research Centre for Experimental Pharmacology and Drug Design (X-Pharm Design), "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square, No. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. † Presented at the International Conference on Interdisciplinary Approaches and Emerging Trends in Pharmaceutical Doctoral Research: Innovation and Integration, Timisoara, Romania, 7–9 July 2025. Proceedings 2025, 127(1), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2025127020 Published: 27 September 2025 (This article belongs to the Proceedings of International Conference on Interdisciplinary Approaches and Emerging Trends in Pharmaceutical Doctoral Research: Innovation and Integration) Download keyboard_arrow_down Download PDF Download PDF with Cover Download XML Download Epub Versions Notes Keywords: polyphenols; anti-aging; mitochondrial function; ROS targeting Aging is characterized by a progressive decline in organ and cellular functions, followed by greater susceptibility to various diseases and death. With the continuous rise in the elderly population, aging is identified as one of the major focus points of modern medicine, and targeting hallmarks of aging could represent one possible method of ameliorating aging [1,2,3]. To date, researchers have identified several hallmarks of aging, including mitochondrial dysfunction [4]. Specifically, during aging, there has been an observed increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, reduced ATP synthesis, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, excessive mutations of the mtDNA, changes in mitochondrial morphology, reduced mitochondrial number, and accumulation of damaged mitochondria [5,6,7,8]. Polyphenols are a group of natural compounds, found in various fruits and vegetables, that possess the ability to target multiple aging hallmarks [9,10]. All of the polyphenol subclasses—flavonoids, tannins, phenolic acids, coumarins, stilbenes, lignans, curcuminoids, and xanthonoids—can influence one or multiple mitochondrial pathways associated with aging: they can reduce ROS concentrations, improve ATP production and adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT) activity, influence electron transport chain function and mitochondrial fission and fusion, promote mitophagy and mitochondrial biogenesis, restore mitochondrial membrane potential, increase NAD+ levels, and promote sirtuin activity. The mentioned effects can be observed in vitro and in vivo, and can be accompanied by an improvement in age-related dysfunctions, such as exercise endurance, memory deficit, and visual function. Finally, polyphenols can extend lifespan by modulating mitochondrial functions, while the most prevalent exhibited effect is represented by ROS targeting. Author ContributionsConceptualization, T.M. and C.Ș.; Methodology, T.M. and A.M.; Validation, A.M. and C.Ș.; Formal Analysis, T.M.; Investigation, T.M.; Data Curation, T.M.; Writing—Original Draft Preparation, T.M.; Writing—Review and Editing, C.Ș.; Visualization, A.M.; Supervision, C.Ș. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.FundingThis research received no external funding.Institutional Review Board StatementNot applicable.Informed Consent StatementNot applicable.Data Availability StatementNo new data were created or analyzed in this study.Conflicts of InterestThe authors declare no conflict of interest.ReferencesZhou, D.-D.; Luo, M.; Huang, S.-Y.; Saimaiti, A.; Shang, A.; Gan, R.-Y.; Li, H.-B.; Teodoro, A.J. Effects and Mechanisms of Resveratrol on Aging and Age-Related Diseases. Oxidative Med. Cell. Longev. 2021, 2021, 9932218. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]Popescu, I.; Deelen, J.; Illario, M.; Adams, J. 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MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content. © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Share and Cite MDPI and ACS Style Maksimović, T.; Mioc, A.; Șoica, C. The Anti-Aging Effects of Polyphenols: The Mitochondrial Perspective. Proceedings 2025, 127, 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2025127020 AMA Style Maksimović T, Mioc A, Șoica C. The Anti-Aging Effects of Polyphenols: The Mitochondrial Perspective. Proceedings. 2025; 127(1):20. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2025127020 Chicago/Turabian Style Maksimović, Tamara, Alexandra Mioc, and Codruța Șoica. 2025. "The Anti-Aging Effects of Polyphenols: The Mitochondrial Perspective" Proceedings 127, no. 1: 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2025127020 APA Style Maksimović, T., Mioc, A., & Șoica, C. (2025). The Anti-Aging Effects of Polyphenols: The Mitochondrial Perspective. Proceedings, 127(1), 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2025127020 Article Metrics No No Article Access Statistics Multiple requests from the same IP address are counted as one view.