Dietary Saponins as Antiaging Agents: A Systematic Review of Molecular Mechanisms, Nutritional Intervention, and Product Development

Dietary saponins derived from Panax ginseng, Polygonatum sibiricum, and Platycodon grandiflorum, etc. can improve aging and age-related diseases. This review systematically summarized the molecular mechanisms, structure-activity relationship, and product development by which dietary saponin achieves antiaging effects. Dietary saponins can achieve antiaging effects through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, metabolism promotion, skin protection, neuroprotection, stem cell proliferation, apoptosis regulation, mitochondrial function maintenance, telomerase activity enhancement, and gut microbiota regulation, through regulating the related signaling pathway including Nrf2/HO-1, PI3K/Akt, NF-κB, MAPK, and AMPK signaling pathways. Moreover, some antiaging products based on dietary saponins have been developed and utilized as functional foods or nutritional supplements to achieve antiaging in human wellness. This review systematically reviews antiaging mechanisms of dietary saponins, including their structure-activity relationship, from fundamental research to the development of associated products. Future antiaging research on dietary saponins should prioritize high-purity monomers, optimize their bioactive structure, and yield via synthetic biology and nanoencapsulation, followed by clinical validation of efficacy.