Science-backed ingredients to support healthy aging

A cultural sea change around aging is underway.

Recognizing that getting older itself is not a bad thing, consumers are turning away from the idea of “anti-aging” and looking instead for ways to age well. Supplements play a starring role in many consumers’ longevity routines.

According to Nutrition Business Journal’s Healthy Aging Report 2026, the healthy aging supplement category is the only one experiencing double-digit growth.¹ The question is: which ingredients actually work?

To answer that question, it’s important to understand what drives aging in the first place.

The 12 hallmarks of aging

In 2013, an international group of scientists proposed nine hallmarks of aging.² Ten years later, they expanded the number to 12 and grouped them into three categories: primary hallmarks, antagonistic hallmarks, and integrative hallmarks.³

This conceptual framework has had an outsized impact on aging research, shaping how researchers study aging and search for therapies to slow it. A growing body of research points to specific nutraceutical ingredients that may help address each category of hallmarks.

Primary hallmarks

The primary hallmarks of aging reflect damage to the body that accumulates over time. They include genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, and disabled macroautophagy.

In plain English, that translates to increases in DNA mutations, telomere shortening, and shifts in gene expression, as well as decreases in protein maintenance and cellular waste removal. They’re called primary because the researchers note these hallmarks “unambiguously contribute to the aging process”.

NAD+ precursors such as nicotinamide riboside (NR) and nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) are well-studied for their role in activating sirtuins, a family of signaling proteins involved in repairing DNA and preventing unfavorable changes in how genes are switched on or off. In one review study, researchers examined the evidence behind both compounds as sirtuin-activating nutraceuticals. Both cell and animal studies showed that NR and NMNboost NAD+ levels and activate sirtuins.⁴

Palm tocotrienols/tocopherols are a promising ingredient for supporting healthy telomeres. In a recent clinical trial, researchers noted that a palm tocotrienols/tocopherol complex significantly increased the activity of telomerase, which elongates telomeres.⁵ STGaia® is a proprietary complex of squalene and palm tocotrienols/tocopherol and winner of a NutraIngredients Asia Awards 2025 for Healthy Aging.

Bakuchiol oil, a plant-derived compound found in the seeds and leaves of Psoralea corylifolia, has emerged as a topical alternative to retinol. In one comparative study, researchers profiled gene expression in skin treated with bakuchiol.⁶ The botanical ingredient produced retinol-like effects without the irritation often associated with traditional retinoids. In the same study, participants experienced significant improvements in fine lines, wrinkles, pigmentation, elasticity, and firmness after 12 weeks of topical use.

Injuv® is a bioactive moisture complex comprised of multiple constituents – including hyaluronic oligosaccharides, collagen and elastin peptides, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals – that has been shown to stimulate production of type I collagen, the most common protein in the body, in vitro.

Spermidine, originally isolated from seminal fluid but commercially produced from natural plant sources, has been shown to trigger autophagy in yeast, flies, worms, and human cells.⁷ Human research is still in its initial stages, but a small, uncontrolled 8-week study linked spermidine to biomarker changes that indicate increased autophagy.⁸

Antagonistic hallmarks

The antagonistic hallmarks of aging represent biological processes that are beneficial in youth or in moderation, but become a liability with age or in excess. For example, nutrient-sensing is important for organ development and growth in youth but shifts resources away from cellular maintenance and repair in middle and old age.

Similarly, a small temporary amount of mitochondrial stress can strengthen cells, but chronic severe mitochondrial dysfunction harms them. And while a small cluster of senescent, or “zombie”, cells can suppress tumors, they release destructive inflammatory molecules and toxins when they build up in large numbers.

Coenzyme Q10 is a nutraceutical known for supporting mitochondrial function. Concentrated inside the mitochondria, it plays an indispensable role in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production, taxiing electrons as part of the electron transport chain. CoQ10 has also been clinically shown to activate AMPK – a key regulator of nutrient sensing.⁹ Kaneka established the ubiquinol category with Kaneka Ubiquinol, which has been shown to be two times better absorbed than conventional ubiquinone.¹⁰

Fisetin, a flavonoid found in several fruits and vegetables, is supported by substantial preclinical evidence indicating it is a senolytic, i.e. a substance that causes apoptosis (programmed cellular death) in senescent cells. The next phase, clinical research, is well underway; clinicaltrials.gov shows 36 human clinical trials investigating fisetin are either recruiting participants or already active, including 10 studying its effect on senescence.

Integrative hallmarks

The word “integrative” typically carries a positive association in the lexicon of health and wellbeing. However, in this case, integrative hallmarks refer to ones that arise when the cumulative damage caused by primary and antagonistic hallmarks overwhelms the body’s ability to compensate.

Stem cells become exhausted, leading to reduced tissue repair and intercellular communication breaks down, impairing the body’s ability to coordinate and defend itself. Inflammation becomes chronic, and dysbiosis takes hold.

While nutraceuticals for inflammation and dysbiosis are supported by robust evidence, research on the other two integrative hallmarks – stem cell exhaustion and intercellular communication – is still catching up.

Omega-3 fatty acids

Few nutraceuticals have as much evidence supporting their anti-inflammatory activity as the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. The body converts these omega-3s into signaling molecules that reduce inflammatory cytokines and block nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), a pathway that triggers inflammation.

Human clinical research has shown omega-3 supplementation reduces numerous markers of inflammation, including C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF- α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6).¹¹

Probiotics

With age, the makeup of the gut microbiome changes significantly, contributing to dysbiosis. This imbalance in the human microbiota can affect much more than digestion, contributing to everything from obesity and type 2 diabetes to neurological disorders, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

A recent systematic review and meta-analysis, evaluating data from 26 randomized controlled trials, concluded that probiotics could alleviate microbial dysbiosis by increasing the abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus.¹²

Palm tocotrienols/tocopherol

Initial evidence suggests the potential of palm tocotrienols to support a healthy response to inflammation. Pre-clinical research has shown that tocotrienols suppress NF-κB as well as several inflammatory mediators, including TNF- α, IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2).¹³

Similarly, a six-month clinical trial found that a palm tocotrienols/tocopherol complex significantly reduced levels of TNF- α, with downward trends for other cytokines such as IL-6 noted.¹⁴

A multi-ingredient approach to healthy aging

No single nutraceutical addresses all 12 hallmarks of aging, which may explain why many manufacturers are developing multi-ingredient formulations. Soft Gel Technologies, for instance, has built a line of soft gels that pair STGaia’s squalene and tocotrienol complex with other clinically studied actives – such as Injuv, Kaneka Ubiquinol, and bakuchiol.

As the science of aging grows more sophisticated, so too will the formulations designed to help consumers not just live longer, but age well.

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