Harnessing Genetics to Extend Lifespan and Healthspan: Current Progress and Future Directions.

Aging is inevitable, but the lifespan (duration of life) and healthspan (healthy aging) vary greatly among individuals and across species. Unlocking the secrets behind these differences has captivated scientific curiosity for ages. This review presents relevant recent advances in genetics and cell biology that are shedding new light by untangling how subtle changes in conserved genes, pathways, and epigenetic factors influence organismal senescence and associated declines. Biogerontology is a complex and rapidly growing field aimed at elucidating genetic modifications that extend lifespan and healthspan. This review explores gerontogenes, genes influencing lifespan and healthspan across species. Though subtle differences exist, long-lived individuals such as centenarians demonstrate extended healthspans, and numerous studies confirm the heritability of longevity/healthspan genes. Importantly, genes and gerontogenes are directly and indirectly involved in DNA repair, insulin/IGF-1 and mTOR signaling pathways, long non-coding RNAs, sirtuins, and heat shock proteins. The complex interactions between genetics and epigenetics are teased apart. While more research into optimizing healthspan is needed, conserved gerontogenes offer synergistic potential to forestall aging and age-related diseases. Understanding complex longevity genetics brings closer the goal of extending not only lifespan but quality years of life. The primary aim of human Biogerontology is to enhance lifespan and healthspan, but the question remains: are current genetic modifications effectively promoting healthy aging? This article collates the advancements in gerontogenes that enhance lifespan and improve healthspan alongside their potential challenges.

Response surface methodology as a tool to optimize the extraction of bioactive compounds from plant sources.

Response surface methodology (RSM) is a widely used mathematical and statistical technique for modeling and optimizing the process for the extraction of bioactive compounds. This review explains the optimization approach through the use of experimental design and empirical models for response prediction and the utilization of the desirability function for multiple response optimization. This paper also reviews recent studies on the application of RSM to optimize bioactive compound extraction processes such as conventional solvent extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, and ultrasound-assisted extraction. Finally, the challenges associated with the use of RSM and the efforts made to improve RSM in the extraction process are also highlighted. Overall, this review informs many aspects of RSM that are occasionally ignored or insufficiently discussed with regard to the optimization of bioactive compound extraction processes, and it summarizes significant applications where RSM proved suitable. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.