Longevity and healthspan have emerged as a key theme across the nutraceutical industry.
This growth can largely be attributed to heightened health consciousness, deeper consumer education, advancing scientific research, and an aging, more proactive population.
Globally, life expectancy is rising – thanks to higher education, rising living standards, and better healthcare.1 By 2050, the world’s population aged 60 or older will reach 2.1bn, and the number of people aged 80 or older will triple between 2020 and 2050 to reach 426m.
Yet despite the global population living longer, this does not necessarily mean people are living in “good” health. WHO defines healthy ageing as “the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age”.2
Healthy ageing must include quality of life, ensuring that people develop and maintain the functional ability that supports wellbeing – rather than merely the absence of disease. This includes a person’s ability to: meet basic needs; make decisions; be mobile; build and maintain relationships; and contribute to society.
To support longevity, the use of dietary supplements has grown significantly. Targeted supplementation can support healthspan and healthy ageing by addressing foundational nutritional gaps and supporting cellular function.
But to ensure dietary supplements effectively support longevity and cellular function, bioavailability – how well and how much of a nutrient the body actually absorbs – is critical. Poor absorption can limit the effectiveness of even the most well-researched ingredients.
To address poor bioavailability, advanced delivery systems such as self-microemulsifying drug delivery systems (SMEDDS), cold-water dispersion (CWD), and liposomes have been developed. These systems improve nutrient solubility and absorption, ensuring that more of the nutrient reaches the bloodstream in an active form.
Targeting key longevity challenges with enhanced absorption
To improve ingredient bioavailability, Saanroo, a global provider of science-backed botanical ingredients and delivery systems, offers a portfolio of ingredients to support longevity.
“The future of longevity supplements will center on precision, personalisation, and clinically proven efficacy. As consumers demand measurable outcomes, brands will increasingly pair advanced delivery systems with clinically validated ingredients to ensure meaningful bioavailability,” says RV Venkatesh, co-founder of Saanroo.
Tackling inflammation: Supporting sleep and stress
Ageing causes persistent, low-grade systemic inflammation, also known as inflammaging. This is often accompanied by cellular senescence, immunosenescence, organ dysfunction, and age-related diseases.3 Unlike the acute inflammation that occurs with injury or illness, inflammaging is a quiet, invisible process that slowly damages tissues over time.
In addition to natural ageing, other factors can contribute to inflammaging. Research has found that poor sleep can be associated with markers of inflammation – including increases in inflammatory molecules such as cytokines, interleukin-6, and C-reactive protein.
Stress is another factor. Chronic stress can contribute to inflammation by triggering the body’s fight-or-flight response. Over time, this can lead to hormone resistance and immune system dysregulation.
To support stress and sleep, and in turn, inflammaging, Saanroo developed Levagen®+. This ingredient is a bioavailable, next-gen form of palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) designed for superior absorption and formulation flexibility. It uses the award-winning LipiSperse® technology, which disperses lipophilic actives in aqueous environments to prevent clumping and improve uptake.
This is significant because PEA supports the body’s natural inflammatory response by activating PPAR-α and modulating the endocannabinoid system. Levagen®+ has been clinically studied and shown to deliver analgesic and anti-inflammatory benefits.
Levagen®+ has been clinically studied to support sleep. In 2021, a double-blind, randomised study of 103 adults compared the efficacy and tolerability of an eight-week daily supplement of PEA (350 mg Levagen®+) to a placebo.
Results showed that at week eight, PEA supplementation reduced sleep onset latency and time to feel fully awake, and improved cognition upon waking. After eight weeks, both groups improved sleep quality and quantity scores similarly.
Additionally, in 2025, a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial was conducted with 16 female participants who met inclusion criteria based on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).4 Participants were randomly assigned to receive either six weeks of PEA supplementation (600 mg Levagen®+) or a placebo, with a six-week washout period.
Results showed a significant increase in the Standard Deviation of Normal-to-Normal (SDNN), a key HRV marker associated with autonomic resilience to stress, compared with placebo, suggesting enhanced physiological stress regulation.
Metabolic health as a cornerstone of longevity
Metabolic health is another factor that influences longevity. Metabolic health refers to how effectively the body regulates parameters such as blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, and inflammation. Today, metabolic dysfunction is considered a key underlying driver that accelerates biological ageing and triggers chronic illnesses decades before symptoms appear.
Metabolic health, weight management, and GLP-1 medications are closely interconnected because insulin resistance and hormonal signaling drive both weight gain and metabolic dysfunction.
To support metabolic health and longevity, Saanroo developed Tripti™, an oleoylethanolamide (OEA) powered by its LipiSperse® technology. Tripti™ is a natural solution that supports weight management by enhancing satiety and optimising fat utilisation. When combined with a healthy diet and exercise, Tripti™ can help achieve weight-loss goals and support long-term metabolic health.
LipiSperse® shepherds the OEA through the GI tract and efficiently delivers it to the intestines, where it most effectively enhances the body’s own GLP-1 production. This ensures no side effects, unlike synthetic GLP-1 agonists, which can have a myriad of side effects.
In a 2026 fixed-sequence, single-blind, placebo-controlled, three-period crossover study, 37 adults (BMI 25–34.9 kg/m²) received a single dose of placebo, 150 mg of Tripti™, or 300 mg of Tripti™ after an overnight fast.
Results showed that 300 mg of Tripti™ produced the greatest incretin responses, which were significantly higher than placebo. At key timepoints, GLP-1 concentrations were significantly higher (approximately 20–25%) than placebo.
Cellular health and ageing well
As biological ageing begins within cells, maintaining cellular function is essential. Cellular ageing causes cells to lose their normal structure, stop dividing, and function less efficiently over time. Damaged cells stop dividing but refuse to die. These “zombie cells” linger and release inflammatory chemicals that harm nearby healthy cells – a process called cellular senescence.
VeriSperse®, a dispersible trans-resveratrol, is designed to support cellular ageing by delivering enhanced bioavailability and functionality, targeting the biological mechanisms of ageing with a 90% active load.
In 2020, a single-dose, double-blind, randomised study compared the pharmacokinetics of a commercially available resveratrol with VeriSperse® and without the LipiSperse® delivery complex. Resveratrol is a naturally occurring compound that has been extensively studied for its potential health benefits, although it traditionally has poor bioavailability.
In the study, healthy adults were randomly assigned a single dose of 150 Veri-te, 75 VeriSperse®, or 150 mg VeriSperse®. Results showed that the 150 mg VeriSperse® dose had a two-fold increase in absorption and a three-fold increase in Cmax of trans-resveratrol conjugates compared with 150 mg Veri-te. These findings support the use of LipiSperse® to improve resveratrol absorption.
Additionally to this, HydroCurc® can support cellular health by delivering highly bioavailable curcuminoids that combat oxidative stress, regulate cellular inflammatory pathways, and protect cellular and tissue integrity.
A 2020 study showed that HydroCurc® taken with ferrous sulphate (FS) iron can reduce in oxidative stress and systemic-inflammation.5 The study examined the effects of oral iron supplementation at low (18 mg) and high (65 mg) FS iron dosages.
Results showed a significant increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) over time in the (26%) in the FS18+Curc group – demonstrating for the first time that the combination with curcumin, rather than iron supplementation alone, results in increased serum BDNF.
Importance of delivery technology
The opportunity for brands to maximise the value of proven ingredients is vast. Delivery technology is becoming a key differentiator in longevity support. Discovering a life-extending molecule is meaningless if it cannot safely reach, enter, and precisely modulate the correct cellular target.
“Many of today’s most sought-after longevity ingredients face similar formulation challenges. They may be poorly soluble, difficult to disperse, prone to degradation, or challenging from a sensory standpoint. As a result, interest is growing in technologies that address specific performance barriers. Dispersion technologies are gaining traction for ingredients such as curcumin, berberine, and resveratrol because they improve aqueous dispersion and support more consistent delivery,” says Maggie McNamara, vice president of global marketing at Saanroo.
References
- World Health Organization. Ageing and health.
- World Health Organization. Healthy ageing and functional ability.
- Li, X.; et al. Inflammation and aging: signaling pathways and intervention therapies. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy. 2023; 8, 239.
- Deb, SK.; et al. The effects of formulated palmitoylethanolamide supplementation on indicators of stress and heart rate variability in female university students: a randomised cross-over trial. Front Nutr. 2025 Sep 19;12:1586409.
- Tiekou Lorinczova, H.; et al. Co-Administration of Iron and a Bioavailable Curcumin Supplement Increases Serum BDNF Levels in Healthy Adults. Antioxidants. 2020; 9(8), 645.
