Sulforaphane, an organosulfur isothiocyanate derived from cruciferous vegetables, extended lifespan in the roundworm C. elegans by more than 50% at the most effective doses, researchers report. The compound, previously shown to inhibit inflammation, oxidative stress, and cancer cell growth, was tested across doses and ages to evaluate its potential as a natural candidate for promoting longevity.
Timing proved critical: treatment had to be initiated early in life to be effective. The dose-response relationship, combined with the clearest transcriptional responses occurring in detoxification pathways, points to a likely hormetic response, in which a mild stressor triggers protective mechanisms.
To probe how sulforaphane slows aging, the team built a novel gene-specific transcriptional aging clock. Treated worms showed a “transcriptional age” roughly four days younger than age-matched controls, a nearly 20% reduction in biological age, indicating that the compound slows the molecular aging process rather than merely prolonging survival.
The findings support the idea that robust lifespan-extending interventions can act through global effects across the organism, revealed as systems-level changes in gene expression.
As with all C. elegans studies, the results are from a model organism and do not establish that sulforaphane supplementation extends human lifespan. The work comes from Christine A. Sedore, Erik Segerdell, and colleagues, including Gordon J. Lithgow, Monica Driscoll, and Patrick C. Phillips.
Subject of Research: Effects of sulforaphane on lifespan and transcriptional aging in C. elegans
Article Title: The broccoli derivative sulforaphane extends lifespan by slowing the transcriptional aging clock
Article References: Sedore, C. A., Segerdell, E., Coleman-Hulbert, A. L., Johnson, E., Levi, J. N., Lithgow, G. J., Driscoll, M., & Phillips, P. C. (2026). The broccoli derivative sulforaphane extends lifespan by slowing the transcriptional aging clock. PLOS Aging and Health, 1(4), e0000047. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.page.0000047
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1371/journal.page.0000047
Keywords: sulforaphane, C. elegans, lifespan extension, transcriptional aging clock, biological age, hormesis, detoxification pathways, daf-16/FOXO, skn-1/Nrf2, cruciferous vegetables, longevity, broccoli
News Source: Beatrice Stafford. (October 27, 2026). Broccoli compound sulforaphane extends worm lifespan by slowing a transcriptional aging clock. Scienmag.
