Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Pharmacologic induction of autophagy using rapamycin, resveratrol, or spermidine extends life span in model organisms by mimicking caloric restriction.
Drugs like rapamycin and supplements like spermidine can extend life in animals by triggering cellular cleanup (autophagy). However, rapamycin has significant side effects in mice, and resveratrol's benefits in humans are unclear. Current research aims to find safer drugs that activate this process without the negative health impacts.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The TOR inhibitor rapamycin is a potent autophagy inducer... that extends life span in a variety of organisms... The natural phenol resveratrol... induces autophagy and extends the life span of yeast, flies, and nematodes... spermidine prolongs life span of yeast, flies, and nematodes in an autophagy-dependent fashion.
Why this rating
Consistent findings across multiple species, though human life span data is lacking.
Source
Essential role for autophagy in life span extension
Frank Madeo et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 2015
DOI 10.1172/jci73946
narrative_reviewCited 443×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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