Pomegranate ellagitannins (punicalagins) are barely absorbed.

Your gut microbiota converts them to urolithins, particularly urolithin A, which induces mitophagy (clearance of damaged mitochondria).

This is one of the most validated mechanisms in longevity science.

But only ~40% of people produce urolithin A efficiently. The fruit isn't the product; the metabolite is and most people can't make it.

Publications of interest:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27400265/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32694802/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35118817/

Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) is a cyanobacterium, not a true alga.

It's prokaryotic (no nucleus), closer to bacteria than to the eukaryotic microalgae (chlorella, Haematococcus) it's constantly compared with.

This taxonomic distinction matters: cyanobacteria can produce microcystins (hepatotoxins), and contamination from co-occurring Microcystis species is a real quality concern that the "superfood algae" branding overlooks.

Publications of interest:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10302721/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10221061/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5371831/

Resveratrol's fame is built on SIRT1 activation (the "longevity gene").

But subsequent research showed the original SIRT1 activation data may have been a fluorescent assay artifact, the fluorophore, not resveratrol, was activating the enzyme.

Resveratrol does activate SIRT1, but possibly indirectly via AMPK. The most famous mechanism in longevity nutrition might be partially wrong and it still works.

Publications of interest:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19843076/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15684413/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6324849/

CGF (Chlorella Growth Factor) is a proprietary term for a hot-water extract of chlorella containing nucleotide-peptide complexes that accelerate cell division.

It was discovered in the 1950s when researchers noticed chlorella quadrupled every 20 hours, faster than any other green plant.

The exact composition of CGF has never been fully characterized despite 70 years of commercial use.

Publications of interest:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7522799/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4908087/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31739107/

Sage inhibits acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), the same enzyme targets as donepezil (Aricept) and rivastigmine (Exelon), the standard-of-care Alzheimer's drugs.

A single-dose RCT in healthy adults showed significant improvement in memory and attention after sage extract.

The name "Salvia" comes from Latin "salvare" to save/heal.

A kitchen spice has a drug-level mechanism for cognitive preservation.

Publications of interest:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18350281/, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12605619/, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6493168/

Spirulina is sold as a "green superfood."

But its primary bioactive compound is phycocyanin, a blue pigment (phycobiliprotein) that gives spirulina its blue-green color.

Phycocyanin inhibits NADPH oxidase (a key inflammatory enzyme), is neuroprotective, and has 20x the antioxidant capacity of ascorbic acid on a molar basis.

The "green" marketing obscures the fact that the active is blue.

Publications of interest:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18158824/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12769719/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9185767/

Hericenones (fruiting body): smaller molecules, cross BBB, stimulate NGF in the brain.

Erinacines (mycelium): larger diterpenoids, also stimulate NGF but with different potency and targets.

The "fruiting body vs. mycelium" debate in the mushroom industry isn't about quality, it's about which active compound you want.

That is a distinction that is not always clear to the consumers and to many companies.

Publications of interest:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26244378/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11172836/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6803874/

Compound K (CK), the primary gut metabolite of PPD-type ginsenosides, is more potent than the parent compounds for anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-diabetic activity.

Only ~30% of people efficiently produce Compound K (microbiome-dependent). This means ginseng is a different drug in different people.

Direct Compound K supplementation could bypass the microbiome variability entirely.

Publications of interest:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32617041/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31984805/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6026358/

Cranberry A-type PACs don't kill bacteria.

They prevent uropathogenic E. coli from attaching to bladder walls by inhibiting P-fimbriae adhesion.

This is a fundamentally different mechanism from antibiotics , it doesn't create resistance, it prevents colonization.

The mechanism is so specific that there's a validated dose-response: 36mg PAC-A/day is the threshold. Below that, nothing happens. Above it, significant UTI reduction. This is pharma-level mechanism specificity in a berry.

Publications of interest:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16055161/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2873556/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10872208/

Morus alba leaves accumulate unusually high levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).

This means mulberry leaf extract could serve dual-purpose positioning: blood sugar management + relaxation/sleep,an unexpected combination from a single plant.

Publications of interest:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16462030/,

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9158535/,

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26743028/