Tier 3 — preclinical

The Effects of Fisetin on Reducing Biological Aging: A Pilot Study

Lee E, Burns M
Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 2024 30(9):6-10

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 39269340
Funding
Not stated in the retrieved abstract.
Competing interests
Not stated in the retrieved abstract.

Study snapshot

DesignOpen-label, single-arm pilot study in healthy adults over age 50, using the TruAge DNA methylation test to assess change in biological age.
ModelTen healthy human adults, over age 50.
Sample10
InterventionFisetin 500 mg daily, taken for one week per month, for six months (pulsed monthly dosing).
Duration6 months
EndpointsChange in biological age (TruAge DNA methylation test); Telomere length; Adverse effects

What the study showed, in plain terms

This is one of the very few published human studies to actually dose fisetin and measure an ageing biomarker, which is exactly why it is worth including — even though it is small and its result is not encouraging. Ten healthy adults over 50 took 500 mg of fisetin daily for one week each month, for six months, and had their biological age measured before and after using the TruAge epigenetic clock test.

The results were mixed and, on balance, unfavourable. Four of ten participants showed a reduction in biological age. Five of ten showed an increase. One showed no change. Telomere length did not change significantly in either direction. No adverse effects were reported.

The authors' own conclusion is blunt: taking fisetin as an anti-ageing agent is not recommended until more extensive studies are done. We include this study specifically because it is a rare piece of real human biological-age data on fisetin, and because ignoring an unfavourable result while citing every favourable mouse study would not be an honest picture of the evidence.

Key findings

  • Fisetin 500 mg/day, one week per month for six months, produced a reduction in biological age (TruAge test) in 4 of 10 participants, an increase in 5 of 10, and no change in 1 of 10.
  • Telomere length did not statistically change with fisetin use.
  • No adverse effects were noted among the ten subjects.
  • The authors concluded that fisetin as an anti-ageing agent is not recommended until more extensive (larger, controlled) studies are conducted.

What this study can and cannot tell us

  • Very small sample (n=10) with no placebo or control arm — no way to know whether the biological-age changes seen (in either direction) differ from natural test-retest variability in the TruAge assay.
  • Open-label, unblinded design — no blinding of participants or assessors.
  • More participants had an increase in biological age than a decrease, which is a genuinely unfavourable signal that should not be minimised or omitted.
  • 500 mg/day for one week per month is a different dose and schedule from both the trial-validated 20 mg/kg pulsed protocol and typical continuous-daily commercial capsule use, which limits how directly this result generalises to either.

Related papers in the corpus

Tier 2
Enhanced bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of a novel hybrid-hydrogel formulation of fisetin orally administered in healthy individuals: a randomised double-blinded comparative crossover study
Illathu Madhavamenon Krishnakumar et al. · Journal of Nutritional Science · 2022

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Editorial review

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Last verified

Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology