{
  "abstract": "Apigenin is an abundant, bioactive phytochemical with reported therapeutic potential and neuroprotective effects in a variety of age-related disease models. However, the extent to which apigenin may promote healthspan and protect against neurodegeneration-associated proteotoxicity has not been thoroughly investigated, and the biological processes/mechanisms that underlie its protective effects remain unclear. To determine if apigenin increases healthspan, we performed lifespan assays in conjunction with measures of aging-relevant physiological function in wild-type C. elegans. We found that chronic exposure to apigenin extended median lifespan and improved multiple readouts of healthspan, including pharyngeal pumping, locomotor activity, and age-related macromolecular damage accumulation. Additional analyses of transgenic reporter strains and transcriptomic profiling (RNA-seq) indicated that apigenin primarily modulated redox-sensitive stress signaling and pathways associated with cellular homeostasis in aging animals. Finally, in transgenic C. elegans strains expressing the pathological Alzheimer's disease-associated proteins amyloid-beta or tau, we found that apigenin had similar beneficial effects on lifespan, healthspan, and proteotoxicity-associated functional impairments. Together, our results support apigenin as a potential healthspan-promoting intervention that acts in part through reductions in oxidative stress-associated signaling, with beneficial effects that extend to models of Alzheimer's disease-associated proteotoxicity.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Colorado State University"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "R. A. Grant"
    },
    {
      "name": "L. H. E. Park"
    },
    {
      "name": "D. Wahl"
    },
    {
      "name": "T. J. LaRocca"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/89s4s1pbfqxeh.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.09.23.753917",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.23.753917v1.full",
  "id": "89s4s1pbfqxeh",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.23.753917v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1302|Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214787684",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.23.753917v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-23",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/89s4s1pbfqxeh.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:25:14Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.09.23.753917",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.23.753917v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Apigenin Improves Healthspan and Protects Against Alzheimer's Disease-Associated Proteotoxicity in C. elegans",
  "title_text": "Apigenin Improves Healthspan and Protects Against Alzheimer's Disease-Associated Proteotoxicity in C. elegans",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:25:14Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/89s4s1pbfqxeh",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}