An Evaluation of Naturally Occurring Plant-based Sex Hormone Mimetics as Senotherapeutic Drug Candidates

Women tend to live longer than men and have less susceptibility to age-related diseases up until menopause. The cellular mechanisms that underpin this are still unclear. Our recent paper (“Repurposing Drugs for Senotherapeutic Effect: Potential Senomorphic Effects of Female Synthetic Hormones”, Cells, 2024) showed evidence that some common sex hormone drugs; ethinyl estradiol, diethylstilboestrol and levonorgestrel; can impact cellular senescence.

This project aims to explore these pathways and to see if naturally occurring sex hormone mimetics have similar effects to the sex hormone drugs. The project takes a cells-to-systems approach: by looking at in vitro effects of plant derived sex hormone mimetics in the laboratory, by using population datasets to explore use of sex hormone drugs and ageing-related outcomes, and by studying in vivo effects using commercially available, plant derived, mimetic compounds. The Phyto Ageing Study aims to assess the effects of one of these compounds in joint function of the hands in volunteers over the age of 50.

This project is funded by Animal Free Research UK and showcases a range of animal-free research techniques.