What role does gut microbiota play in aging, and what is the therapeutic potential of microbiome-targeted interventions for anti-aging?
Gut Microbiome Testing, a review (Ageing Research Reviews 2017, PMID 28109835) — aging is associated with alterations in gut microbiota composition, diversity, and function, potentially due to immunosenescence and inflammaging. No numeric effect size is reported for Gut Microbiome Testing in the source abstract.
Source: Ageing Research Reviews 2017, PMID 28109835 ↗ · Research map · How Magellan grades evidence · evidence confidence: low
Ageing Research Reviews · 2017 · PMID 28109835 · DOI 10.1016/j.arr.2017.01.001
Changes in gut bacteria are linked to aging, and modifying these bacteria through diet, probiotics, or fecal transplants may offer anti-aging benefits.
The question
What role does gut microbiota play in aging, and what is the therapeutic potential of microbiome-targeted interventions for anti-aging?
What they tested
The abstract suggests that age-related changes in gut microbiota contribute to aging processes, and that interventions targeting the microbiota could favorably affect host health and aging.
How they did it
This is a review article summarizing recent research findings on the role of gut microbiota in aging processes and the therapeutic potential of microbiome-targeted interventions.
What they found
Aging is associated with alterations in gut microbiota composition, diversity, and function, potentially due to immunosenescence and inflammaging. Microbiota-targeted dietary and probiotic interventions have been shown to enhance antioxidant activity, improve immune homeostasis, suppress chronic inflammation, regulate fat deposition and metabolism, and prevent insulin resistance. Fecal microbiota transplantation has also demonstrated high effectiveness and safety in preventing and treating age-related conditions like atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, and Parkinson's disease.
What it means
Gut microbiota plays a significant role in aging processes, and microbiome-targeted interventions, including dietary changes, probiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation, hold therapeutic potential for anti-aging medicine and the management of age-related pathologies.
Limitations
As a review, this abstract does not present new experimental data or specific study limitations beyond what might be inherent in the reviewed literature. It summarizes existing findings without detailing the limitations of individual studies.
The paper at a glance
| Title | Gut microbiota: A player in aging and a target for anti-aging intervention |
|---|---|
| Journal | Ageing Research Reviews |
| Year | 2017 |
| PMID | 28109835 ↗ |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.arr.2017.01.001 ↗ |
| Topic | Gut microbiome & digestion |
Read the source: PubMed record (authors, abstract, full citation) ↗ · Publisher via doi.org ↗
Where Magellan uses this paper
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At-Home Food & Allergen Testing
For people with celiac disease or IgE-mediated food allergy, avoiding even trace allergen exposure is the only effective management, yet studies repeatedly find gluten in foods labeled or assumed "gluten-free"—roughly 15% overall in one meta-analysis and about a third of gluten-free restaurant dishes in U.S.
Glycan-Based Inflammatory Age Testing
Chronic inflammation is a unifying mechanism across age-related disease. Because IgG glycosylation reflects systemic inflammatory tone, glycan age offers a window into 'inflammaging' that complements methylation clocks and can respond to lifestyle change.
The Allergen Alert Mini Food Lab is a portable consumer food-testing device designed to detect specific…
Research describes the compound or intervention studied. It is not a claim about any specific product.
Molecules & mechanisms in this paper
Each of these is named in the paper’s own words above. Open the monograph for the full mechanism and its other citations.
Cite this page
These citations point at this summary. To cite the original paper with its full author list, use the PubMed record or doi.org.
Magellan Longevity. (2026). What role does gut microbiota play in aging, and what is the therapeutic potential of microbiome-targeted interventions for anti-aging? [Plain-English summary of Ageing Research Reviews 2017, PMID 28109835, DOI 10.1016/j.arr.2017.01.001]. Magellan Longevity. https://magellanlongevity.com/study/microbiome_aging.html@misc{magellan_microbiome_aging,
title = {What role does gut microbiota play in aging, and what is the therapeutic potential of microbiome-targeted interventions for anti-aging?},
author = {{Magellan Longevity}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://magellanlongevity.com/study/microbiome_aging.html}},
note = {Plain-English summary of PubMed PMID 28109835; DOI 10.1016/j.arr.2017.01.001; Ageing Research Reviews 2017. Reviewed by Gabriel Radu, DO},
urldate = {2026-08-11}
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