Investigación Gerontológica y Geriatría

Abstracto

The Fruits of Ripe Old Age: Potential Role for Polyphenols in the Modulation of Disorders of Energy Regulation in Aging

Evan Paul Cherniack

The process of aging is accompanied by many disorders of energy regulation. Frailty, an important pathologic syndrome in the elderly, has multiple causes, but it is characterized by sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass), or alternatively dynapenia (loss of muscle strength). There is a related and concomitant increase in fat mass, sometimes referred to as sarcopenic-obesity.

Research on the applications of polyphenols to treat energy regulatory disorders of aging is only in its early stages. There are many barriers that need to be overcome before polyphenols are practically applied. Polyphenols are rapidly metabolized in the small intestine, and their bioavailability is quite limited, although their metabolites might also be active.