Dietary Polyphenols for Active and Healthy Ageing

Abstract

The prolongation of lifespan is a desired condition, strictly depending from several factors, including genetics and environmental factors. In this context, nutrition can be a powerful tool, useful to modulate ageing. In particular, polyphenols constituents, widely distributed in edible vegetables and fruits, can act on specific intracellular markers, among which the enzyme sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) and several kinases, mainly AMPK, mTOR and MAPK/ERK and then contribute to reduce proinflammatory and fibrotic processes typical of the ageing; therefore inhibiting the progression of age-related pathologies, including neurodegenerative, cardiovascular and cancer. Indeed polyphenol family is very big and includes numerous subgroups of chemical constituents, ranging from rather elementary substances, such as phenolic acids and stilbenes, to complex polymerized molecules, such as tannins. They are different for distribution in the natural king and for bio-pharmacological profile. In this chapter the role played from polyphenols in the senescence has been evaluated.