Molecular Mechanisms of Anti-aging Traditional Chinese Medicine with “Homology of Medicine and Food”: Under the Influence of Oxidative Stress

Abstract

Background: The biological process of aging is brought on by a variety of variables and mechanisms, among which, the most comprehensive is the aging process caused by oxidative stress. The theory of the “homology of medicine and food”, originated from the thinking of traditional Chinese medicine, has gained popularity in recent years, and is believed to be utilized as a dietary therapy to ease the symptoms of aging. Purpose: We searched the recent 10-year literature on the “homology of medicine and food” traditional Chinese medicine to alleviate aging and prolong life, and summarized its anti-aging mechanism under the influence of oxidative stress. Experimental approach: Six electronic databases, including China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang database, Chinese Scientific Journals Database (VIP), PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library, were searched from June 2012 to June 2022 for identifying eligible studies. Key Results: The “homology of medicine and food” traditional Chinese medicine mainly scavenges free radicals, alleviates mitochondrial DNA damage, regulates telomeres and telomerase, regulates nutrient and energy sensing signaling, up-regulates sirtuins signaling pathway, and activates the Keap1-Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway mechanisms delay aging and prolong lifespan, and expect to find microcirculation mechanisms and new targets. Conclusions & Implications: The “homology of medicine and food” traditional Chinese medicine relieves the aging of the body and cells under oxidative stress through 6 pathways and is expected to find the correlation between the microcirculation formation mechanisms and identify new research targets and factors, which will provide new opportunities for life extension, prevention, and treatment of age-related diseases.