Aging is a natural biological progress accompanied by the gradual decline in physiological functions, manifested by its close association with an increased incidence of human diseases and higher vulnerability to death. Those diseases include neurological disorders, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer, many of which are currently without effective cures. Even though aging is inevitable, there are still interventions that can be developed to prevent/delay the onset and progression of those aging-associated diseases and extend healthspan and/or lifespan. Here, we review decades of research that reveals the molecular pathways underlying aging and forms the biochemical basis for anti-aging drug development. Importantly, due to the vast chemical space of natural products and the rich history of herb medicines in treating human diseases documented in different cultures, natural products have played essential roles in aging research. Using several of the most promising natural products and their derivatives as examples, we discuss how natural products serve as an inspiration resource that helped the identification of key components/pathways underlying aging, their mechanisms of action inside the cell, and the functional scaffolds or targeting mechanisms that can be learned from natural products for drug engineering and optimization. We argue that natural products might eventually provide a solution to aging and aging-associated diseases.

衰老是一种伴随生理功能逐渐下降的自然生物学进程，表现为与人类疾病发病率增加和死亡风险增加密切相关。这些疾病包括神经系统疾病、心血管疾病、糖尿病和癌症，其中许多目前还没有有效的治疗方法。尽管衰老是不可避免的，但仍然可以开发干预措施来预防/延迟这些与衰老相关的疾病的发生和进展，并延长健康和/或寿命。在这里，我们回顾了数十年的研究，这些研究揭示了衰老背后的分子途径，并形成了抗衰老药物开发的生化基础。重要的，由于天然产物的巨大化学空间以及不同文化中记载的治疗人类疾病的草药的丰富历史，天然产物在衰老研究中发挥了重要作用。以几种最有前途的天然产物及其衍生物为例，我们讨论天然产物如何作为一种灵感资源，帮助识别衰老的关键成分/途径、它们在细胞内的作用机制以及功能支架或靶向可以从天然产物中学习用于药物工程和优化的机制。我们认为天然产品可能最终为衰老和衰老相关疾病提供解决方案。以几种最有前途的天然产物及其衍生物为例，我们讨论天然产物如何作为一种灵感资源，帮助识别衰老的关键成分/途径、它们在细胞内的作用机制以及功能支架或靶向可以从天然产物中学习用于药物工程和优化的机制。我们认为天然产品可能最终为衰老和衰老相关疾病提供解决方案。以几种最有前途的天然产物及其衍生物为例，我们讨论天然产物如何作为一种灵感资源，帮助识别衰老的关键成分/途径、它们在细胞内的作用机制以及功能支架或靶向可以从天然产物中学习用于药物工程和优化的机制。我们认为天然产品可能最终为衰老和衰老相关疾病提供解决方案。以及可以从天然产物中学习用于药物工程和优化的功能支架或靶向机制。我们认为天然产品可能最终为衰老和衰老相关疾病提供解决方案。以及可以从天然产物中学习用于药物工程和优化的功能支架或靶向机制。我们认为天然产品可能最终为衰老和衰老相关疾病提供解决方案。