Fisetin; 9 Scientifically Proven Longevity Benefits

Fisetin fights senescent cells, diabetes, cancer and more.

Fisetin; 9 Scientifically Proven Longevity Benefits

Fisetin fights senescent cells, diabetes, cancer and more

What is Fisetin?

Fisetin is a flavanol, a yellow plant pigment that belongs to the flavonoid group of polyphenols. It gives color to many different fruits and vegetables.

Scientists are currently exploring its ability to slow the aging process and extend lifespan, so basically its senolytic effects, which means can Fisetin selectively induce the death of senescent cells and improve health in humans.

What’s more, fisetin has powerful anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immune-supporting properties. Despite promising animal and cell-based findings, research is still in its early stages, with only three clinical trials to date with humans.

Food Sources

Many different fruits and vegetables contain fisetin. Food sources with the highest concentration of fisetin include:

  • Strawberries (160)

  • Apples (27)

  • Persimmons (11)

  • Lotus root (6)

  • Onions (5)

  • Grapes (4)

  • Kiwi fruit (2)

(the number in brackets relates to the micrograms value per gram of freeze-dried food)

Blocks the NF-κB Pathway

The NF-κB pathway is a switch that tells genes to produce inflammatory compounds. An overactive NF-κB response is linked to allergies, autoimmune diseases and some cancers. Plus, fisetin blocks inflammatory enzymes that degrade fatty acids. It also reduces the activity of a group of enzymes that cancers require to spread and invade other tissues.

Blocks the mTOR pathway

mTOR’s demands for energy and growth can throw your cells into a frenzy: metabolic waste builds up, and there’s no time to clean it up. An overactive mTOR response is associated with cancer, diabetes, obesity, and neurodegenerative diseases. By blocking this pathway, fisetin helps remove waste and enhance cellular metabolism

Also, blocking mTOR increases longevity. In fact, blocking mTOR is the only intervention that increased lifespan in all organisms studied to-date, this is because once mTOR is blocked, autophagy is activated: a process of recycling damaged cellular components. Please bear in mind that the vast majority of fisetin health effects haven’t yet been confirmed in clinical trials.

Anti-Ageing

The following only relate to animal and cell-based studies; they should help with future studies but have not been proven in humans yet. Aging is characterized by the buildup of senescent cells. Cells that stop dividing, become damaged, and start releasing inflammatory molecules.

As we accumulate more and more of these senescent cells, the body starts being affected. These cells start damaging healthy tissue. They contribute to many age-related diseases, from osteoporosis and cancer to heart and brain diseases. Removing senescent cells calms inflammation, improves physical function, and increases lifespan in animals.

Certain plant compounds are able to destroy senescent cells without harming healthy cells. In a 2018 cell-based study of 10 such compounds, fisetin was the most effective. In old mice, fisetin cleared senescent cells and increased their lifespan by over 10%.

Fisetin also extended the lifespan of fruit flies by more than 20% and yeast by more than 50%, as a result of this, a clinical trial is underway to see if fisetin is effective for reducing inflammation and improving frailty and bone health in elderly people

Diabetes and its Complications

In multiple animal studies, fisetin restored blood sugar levels of diabetic rats and mice to those of healthy animals. It improved their ability to control blood sugar levels by:

  • Increasing insulin levels

  • Increasing enzymes that turn sugar into energy

  • Removing sugar from the blood to store as glycogen in the liver

  • Reducing the liver’s ability to make sugar from lactate and amino acids

Fisetin slowed the progression of cataracts and protected the kidneys of diabetic mice by blocking inflammation and oxidative stress. It also protected the liver of diabetic rats from high blood sugar levels by increasing antioxidant levels.

Another complication of diabetes is the hardening of the arteries and heart disease. In a cell study, fisetin prevented high sugar levels from causing inflammation in blood vessels.

Anticancer Potential

The findings discussed below stem from preliminary clinical research and animal studies. Fisetin isn’t approved for cancer prevention or treatment.

Inflammation is linked to colon cancer growth, as well as it’s spread and resistance to chemotherapy. In a clinical study of 37 colon cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, fisetin (100 mg/day for seven weeks) reduced markers of inflammation.

In rats, fisetin reduced oxidative stress and the growth of liver cancer caused by fungal toxins.

In mice, it prevented the growth of lung cancer and boosted low antioxidant levels caused by a toxin in tobacco smoke. It reduced lung tumor growth by 67% in mice and by 92% when combined with a chemotherapy drug. It also prevented the growth of new blood vessels supplying nutrients to the cancer.

Another study found that fisetin reduced tumor growth by 66% in mice with melanoma.

Certain types of prostate cancers are fueled by androgens such as testosterone, fisetin slowed the growth of prostate tumors in mice by blocking the receptors for testosterone on cancer cells.

Fisetin also protected against kidney damage from chemotherapy in rats by reducing inflammation and boosting antioxidant levels.

Cognition

Older rats given fisetin experienced memory and learning improvements. Cell studies revealed that fisetin activates pathways in the brain involved in storing memories.

In another study, fisetin prevented memory loss in mice exposed to toxins. Fisetin can easily cross the blood-brain barrier in mice. This is important as there is an ongoing debate about whether compounds like fisetin can reach high enough levels in the brain to improve its function.

Neurodegenerative Diseases

When over activated Immune cells in the brain cause neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s. This causes inflammation and damage to healthy brain cells. In cells studies, fisetin boosted brain antioxidant levels and prevented these immune cells from releasing inflammatory compounds in response to bacterial toxins

Alzheimer’s disease involves the buildup of amyloid plaques and tau proteins in the brain. Fisetin reduced levels of tau proteins in brain cells by activating a process that removes these harmful proteins known as autophagy.

In mice with amyloid plaques, fisetin improved memory, reduced inflammation, and prevented the loss of brain cell function. In mice with Alzheimer’s, it reduced amyloid plaque buildup and loss of brain cells.

Huntington’s disease is a genetic movement disorder in which brain cells get destroyed. In mice with Huntington’s, fisetin was able to improve declining physical function and increase lifespan.

Cholesterol

Fisetin reduced high total and LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides in rats fed a high-fat diet. In diabetic rats, it doubled HDL levels and cut LDL cholesterol levels in half. A cell study hinted that fisetin reduces cholesterol by causing more of it to be released in the bile.

Cell studies show that fisetin prevents immune cells called macrophages from oxidizing and ingesting LDL cholesterol. When macrophages ingest oxidized LDL, they create fatty plaques that harden the arteries and cause heart disease.

Bone Loss

Estrogens keep bones healthy. After menopause, low estrogen levels put women at risk of osteoporosis. The rise in inflammation due to aging also weakens the bones. Fisetin improved bone density and prevented bone loss in mice with low estrogen levels and inflammation. In cells, it worked by reducing the activity of bone-degrading cells (osteoclasts).

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