Natural products,traditional medicine,and aging mechanisms:future directions for healthy aging researchOA

Natural products and traditional herbal formulas have long been central to traditional medicine.They are used clinically,embedded in cultural therapeutic systems,and continue to provide important bioactive leads for healthy aging research.This editorial argues that the field should move beyond broad antioxidant claims toward geroscience-aligned mechanisms that can be linked to outcomes that matter for healthspan.Across this issue,several priorities for traditional medicine research on aging become clear.These include alignment with geroscience mechanisms,phenotype-based validation,more rigorous evaluation of multi-component interventions,and greater attention to quality control and safety in translational work.We highlight how network pharmacology can help evaluate complex,multi-component interventions when paired with phenotype-based validation,and we outline what‘good evidence’looks like for single compounds versus formulas.We also argue that translation depends on more than mechanistic promise alone.Reproducible material identity,safety monitoring,and clinically interpretable endpoints are necessary if these interventions are to be evaluated seriously in human studies.