In vitro and In vivo Studies on Nutraceutical Treatment Strategies to Promote Healthy Ageing in Some of the Major Age-related Diseases

One of the global problems of humanity is preserving the quality of life as the average age of the populationrises. At the same time, a significant increase in the proportion of the elderly in developed countriespopulations has resulted in an increase in mortality caused by major old age diseases, which has the causativefactor on human age-related processes, such as osteoarticular disease, metabolic disorders, sarcopenia,neuropathy, and cognitive impairment. As a result, it is not a coincidence that the concept of healthy Ageingis one of the top priorities of the World Health Organization (WHO), in line with the Global strategy and actionplan on ageing and health 2016–2020 and the related UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030), followinga multisectoral action for a life course approach to healthy ageing. This strategy for achieving healthy ageingaddresses global priorities to improve most health problems of older age, which are related to chronicconditions; luckily, many of these can be slowed down or even kept in check by healthy behaviors. Althoughtotal life expectancy increases, the 'healthy' life span is always the same, lengthening the 'sick' life spanwithout ameliorating the characteristics of human longevity. Therefore, even at a very advanced age, physicalactivity and good nutrition can help maintain health and well-being, bringing powerful benefits. Thus, healthproblems and declines in the body's functional capacities can be managed effectively, especially if detectedearly enough. Since ageing is a complex and inevitable biological process associated with numerouschronically debilitating health effects, developing effective and early intervention strategies for healthyageing is an active and challenging research area. Indeed, these strategies can ensure an acceptable level ofhealth during the ageing process, especially for people with deteriorating cognitive, motor, and metabolicabilities. In this context, an appropriate dietary regimen and the use of nutraceuticals based on naturalextracts can have significant beneficial responses to counteract stress and diseases during ageing. Based onrecent findings, nutraceuticals are value-added dietary supplement products having immense potential inmodulating key mechanisms and functions related to ageing, acting mainly to restore the impairedphysiological mechanisms and metabolic processes. In this context, this PhD thesis aims to clarify from anexperimental scientific point of view the mechanism of action of some "food supplements" useful in the fieldof health improvement during Ageing. Notably, it reported new advanced strategies based on dietarysupplements and natural products (chosen by their biological properties on the target site), analyzing theirbeneficial effects related to the down-regulation of the biological processes in the specific field, including 1)neurodegenerative disorders and cognitive impairment; 2) peripheral nervous system dysfunction; 3)metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease; 4) sarcopenia and osteoporosis; 5) osteoarticular disordersand osteoarthritis. In conclusion, considering the data obtained from all fields, it is possible to define a newinterdisciplinary field that aims to understand the relationship between ageing and nutraceuticalsupplementation. Further, these data pave the way for developing new healthy ageing therapies that maypromote the identification and development of ‘geroprotectors’. Overall, the results also define the conceptof food supplements as a potent factor that can mitigate some of the deleterious aspects of ageing, includingpredisposition to diseases, and support the correct use of natural extracts.