Is Qualia Senolytic Legit?

Qualia Senolytic is a dietary supplement designed to support healthy aging in an area called “cellular senescence.” Cellular senescence has shown a significant impact on the progression of the aging process and on the period of life during which one is in good health—our healthspan. The impact of cellular senescence can be combated with the help of senolytics, a type of compound that supports the natural cellular processes that help the body clear senescent cells.* 

Qualia Senolytic is a supplement that contains a combination of nine ingredients carefully selected to support the healthy management of cellular senescence.* But is Qualia Senolytic legit? To answer this question, let’s learn a bit more about the science of cellular senescence senolytic supplements. 

Understanding Cellular Senescence?

Cellular senescence is a natural physiological process through which, in response to normal cellular stress (e.g. mitochondrial dysfunction, DNA damage, oxidative stress, or telomere shortening), cells stop dividing but don’t die. Senescence occurs as a protective response to stress that can suppress the proliferation of dysfunctional cells, promote tissue repair, remodeling, and regeneration, and contribute to tissue homeostasis [1,2]. It is therefore part of healthy tissue function and can be beneficial as long as senescent cells are adequately cleared by the immune system [3,4]. 

However, as immune clearance becomes less efficient with age, senescent cells can linger in tissues and gradually accumulate. Senescent cells evade apoptosis (a form of programmed cellular death) by upregulating pro-survival mechanisms called senescent cell anti-apoptotic pathways (SCAPs) and downregulating pro-apoptotic pathways, allowing them to remain in tissues indefinitely [1,3,5]. Because they refuse to die, like Zombies in fiction, senescent cells are commonly referred to as zombie cells. 

The accumulation of senescent cells can have a negative impact on normal tissue function through the persistent action of immune mediators and other bioactive molecules senescent cells release, known as the senescence-associated secretory profile (SASP). The SASP is made up of hundreds of factors that can affect immune function and tissue health and propagate senescence, contributing to tissue aging and suboptimal functioning [1,6–9].

As we age, not only do cellular stressors that induce senescence increase but the immune system also becomes less efficient at finding and clearing senescent cells. This allows for growing numbers of senescent cells to linger in tissues, and promote a cycle of senescent cell accumulation with a progressively higher impact on tissue function. Senescence plays such an important part in the aging process that it is regarded as one of the 12 hallmarks of aging [10].

Senescence has been linked to age-related features in several tissues and organs [11–18] and to many conditions that tend to develop as we age, such as slower physical function [19] and cognition [20], as well as impacts on cardiovascular health [21], pulmonary health [22], gastrointestinal function [23], muscle and bone strength [24,25], kidney function [26], endocrine health [27], as well as skin aging [28].*

Studies in mice with accelerated aging and in naturally aged mice have demonstrated that the clearance or management of senescent cells can promote healthy function and healthy aging [29–31]. Therefore, interventions designed to help hinder senescent cell accumulation may have the capacity to counter the detrimental effects of senescence—one of the main drivers of the aging process—and thereby support a more youthful physiology.* 

What Are Senolytics?

The first senolytic compounds, one of which was the flavonoid quercetin, were identified in 2015 [32]. This finding stimulated the search for other plant compounds with senolytic effects and identified fisetin, piperlongumine, luteolin, and curcumin as senolytics [33,34]. Fisetin was particularly promising as it showed the most potent senolytic activity in senescent murine and human fibroblasts among a panel of 10 flavonoid polyphenols, even surpassing quercetin [34]. In the meantime, research has grown steadily and new senolytic compounds and mechanisms of action underlying senolytic activity have been revealed.

The first human trials have shown promising results: a combination of senolytics that included quercetin reduced markers of senescence in blood, skin, and adipose tissue [35] and supported physical function in a small group of individuals [36]. Several clinical trials assessing the use of senolytics to benefit age-related symptoms are underway.* 

For now, most published research has been preclinical and it has shown that the effects of senolytics on senescent cells can enhance healthspan and longevity in animals [29,30,37,38]. These studies have also shown that senolytics can help maintain healthy bone structure [39] and liver function [14], support kidney and heart tissue repair [40,41], promote metabolic function [42], and support cognitive performance in animal models of advanced cognitive age [43,44].* 

Targeting senescence with senolytics is not the only way senescent cells can be managed. Other approaches include SASP neutralization using compounds called senomorphics and the enhancement of immune-mediated senescent cell clearance [45]. 

How Qualia Senolytic Can Help

As we’ve seen, research has shown that cellular senescence can accelerate biological aging, but alleviating cellular senescence may help prolong healthy function as we age. Therefore, strategies aimed at promoting balanced senescence, i.e., preserving beneficial transient senescence while helping to clear detrimental lingering senescent cells, have the potential to reduce senescent cell burden and promote healthy tissue function and healthspan.

Senolytic supplements such as Qualia Senolytic are a promising strategy to help our body do so.*

Qualia Senolytic was designed with the goal of supporting healthy aging by helping the body balance the creation and clearance of senescent cells, promoting the growth of more youthful cells through the natural elimination of senescent cells, and revitalizing aging tissues.*

One of the complexities we faced while doing research for Qualia Senolytic is that the properties of senescent cells and the senolytic process that can drive them into apoptosis can differ significantly depending on which tissue they’re found [7] and what stress may have caused them to become senescent in the first place. Put another way, senescent cells are heterogeneous. 

Luckily, senolytic compounds found in specific herbs are also a heterogeneous group. We concluded that a more comprehensive intervention to support the management of cellular senescence could be achieved by combining different senolytics by using a portfolio of herbal ingredients. The goal is to support a variety of tissues and help the body manage different types of senescent cells by combining extracts with specific properties. Research has supported this view as it has shown that combining senolytic ingredients with different tissue affinities may be a more effective strategy than just using one senolytic compound [32].*

We kept this in mind when we developed Qualia Senolytic, which is why it combines a selection of nine senolytic ingredients with different tissue affinities that provide a more comprehensive approach to senescent cell management:* 

Qualia Senolytic Ingredients:

• Fisetin (from Rhus succedanea Stem Extract)
• Longvida Optimized Curcumin® 
• Luteolin (from Sophora japonica L. Flower Bud Extract)
• Milk Thistle Fruit Extract (58% silymarin)
• Olive Leaf Extract 
• Piperlongumine (from Piper longum Root Extract)
• Quercefit® Quercetin Phytosome
• SenActiv® (Panax notoginseng Root Extract and Rosa roxburghii Fruit Extract)
• Soybean Seed Extract (40% Isoflavones)

All nine ingredients in Qualia Senolytic have shown senolytic potential in preclinical research by promoting the body’s natural elimination of senescent cells by apoptosis or immune clearance.* 

Regarding tissue specificities, research showed that Quercetin was better at managing senescent human endothelial cells than senescent cells from fat tissue [32], whereas fisetin was able to support the management of senescent cells from fat tissue [34]. Curcumin showed senolytic potential in intervertebral disc cells [46], oleuropein from olive leaf extract supported the management of senescent cartilage cells (that support healthy joints) [47], and SenActiv® supported the management of senescent cells after exercise in muscle tissue [48,49].* 

Some of the compounds in Qualia Senolytic even act through more than one mechanism. For example, fisetin, quercetin, and oleuropein are thought to have both senolytic and senomorphic action [47,50,51].* 

Milk thistle fruit extract [52–55] and soy isoflavones [56–59] supported several cellular functions related to restoring a healthy function of SCAP networks senescent cells rely on to linger, thereby helping to promote balanced senescence [60].* 

Some of the ingredients in Qualia Senolytic are being studied in ongoing clinical trials, namely fisetin and quercetin. These studies have informed some of our formulation choices and the recommended intake protocol for Qualia Senolytic. In ongoing clinical trials sponsored by the Mayo Clinic that are using the senolytic compound fisetin to support healthy aging (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03675724, NCT03430037), it is being administered orally for 2 consecutive days. That is why we recommend intermittent use—a “hit and run” approach, as some experts call it: taking Qualia Senolytic on two consecutive days once a month, i.e., with an interval of about 4 weeks where you won’t take any Qualia Senolytic capsules.* 

Qualia Senolytic Placebo Controlled Clinical Study

Qualia Senolytic's double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial showed promising results, thanks to a carefully crafted blend of nine of the most extensively researched senolytics. These ingredients, combined in precise and complementary dosages, represent cutting-edge advancements in the nutritional optimization of human aging.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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