Food-derived compounds for telomere preservation and healthy aging
Research platform investigating polyphenol-rich food compounds, particularly anthocyanins from berries, to slow cellular aging. Targets telomere shortening, mitochondrial function, autophagy, and metabolic health. Validated in prediabetic individuals and obese mice models, with ongoing in vitro, animal, and C. elegans studies to develop dietary and pharmacological anti-aging interventions.
Overview
This research platform investigates how food-derived compounds, particularly polyphenols and anthocyanins found in berries, can preserve telomere length and promote healthy aging. The work targets key hallmarks of aging including telomere shortening, mitochondrial dysfunction, impaired autophagy, and metabolic decline. By translating these findings into lifestyle and pharmacological interventions, the platform aims to slow the aging process and improve age-related outcomes such as injury recovery, chronic inflammation, and systemic metabolic alterations.
The research is grounded in multidisciplinary expertise combining nutritional cell signaling with telomere biology. Preliminary validations have shown that dietary supplementation with pistachios enhances telomere length and improves glucose metabolism in prediabetic individuals, while maqui and rosehip extracts improved insulin response and modulated metabolism-related gene expression in diet-induced obese mice.
Technical specifications
Core research capabilities:
- Screening of food-derived compounds for anti-aging properties using a primary senescence cell line model
- Evaluation of telomere length preservation and mitochondrial function in cellular models
- Assessment of metabolic improvements, including insulin response and weight management, in obese mouse models
- Lifespan and aging analysis using Caenorhabditis elegans (wild-type N2) as a model organism
- Gene expression analysis linking dietary compounds to aging and metabolic pathways
- Integration of nutritional biochemistry with cellular aging biomarkers
Key compound classes under investigation:
- Polyphenol-rich extracts, particularly anthocyanins from berries
- Maqui and rosehip botanical extracts
- Pistachio-derived dietary components
- Additional food-derived bioactives identified through systematic screening
Technology readiness level
The research has demonstrated proof-of-concept in both human and animal studies. Prediabetic human subjects showed improved telomere length and glucose metabolism following pistachio supplementation, and obese mice exhibited enhanced insulin response and metabolic gene expression with maqui and rosehip treatment. The team is currently advancing validation through in vitro screening with senescence cell lines and further animal studies including aging mouse models and C. elegans lifespan analysis. Clinical trials in human populations remain a planned future step to confirm bioavailability and therapeutic impact.
About Universitat de Barcelona
The Universitat de Barcelona is a large, comprehensive public research university with an urban footprint across the city and a strong international profile. Industry connects through a university‑affiliated science and technology park that co‑locates companies with academic groups, providing shared labs, prototyping and pilot‑scale facilities, and on‑site incubation. Clinical translation is enabled by integration with leading teaching hospitals, and proximity to Barcelona’s innovation districts and global transport links supports collaboration with multinational R&D teams. Research is backed by competitive European Union programs and Spanish and Catalan public funding, and a dedicated technology transfer office manages IP, licensing, startup formation, and collaboration agreements.
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