ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Chem.
Sec. Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry
This article is part of the Research TopicMedicinal and edible TCMs: Extraction and Isolation, Structural Elucidation, Pharmacological Evaluation, Structural Modification, and Quality ControlView all 20 articles
Salvianolic Acid B Attenuates Cellular Senescence and Age-Related Decline in Muscle Function via Dual mTOR/TP53INP2-Autophagy Regulation
Provisionally accepted
LIANG KAIXIN1,2
Mengying Hu1,2
Hejing Zhao1,2Waner Xu1,2Yihan Zhang3Ruikun He4Cheng Peng4Hansen Chen2Zhenyu Ju1,2
Shu Wu1,2*
Yuanlong Ge1,2*- 1Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Natural Bioactive Molecules and Discovery of Innovative Drugs, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
- 2Institute of Aging and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Developmental & Regenerative Medicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
- 3BYHEALTH Institute of Nutrition & Health, Guangzhou, 510663, China, Guangzhou, China
- 4Department of Geriatrics, National Key Clinical Specialty, Guangzhou First People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
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Background: The rapid aging of the global population and the high prevalence of age-related diseases have positioned anti-aging as a critical research priority. Natural products have recently gained significant attention in anti-aging research owing to their multi-target and multi-pathway mechanisms, high safety profiles, and substantial potential for practical ap-plications. Methods: We performed in vitro experiments using aging fibroblasts (BJ) and identified the natural product Salvianolic acid B (SAB) as a potential anti-aging agent, based on its ability to reduce the expression of IL6 and IL1B. Furthermore, we assessed the effects of SAB on cell viability, proliferation, aging-related markers, SASP, ROS levels, and ATP pro-duction. To further investigate the underlying mechanisms of SAB's anti-aging effects, we utilized network pharmacology and RNA sequencing analyses. In vivo, we used a mouse model of radiation-induced premature aging to evaluate the efficacy of SAB in alleviating age-related decline in muscle function, employing kinematic experiments and histological assessments. Results: Research has demonstrated that SAB effectively alleviates the cellular senescence phenotype. It was observed that SAB reduces SASP expression through modulation of the mTOR pathway. Additionally, SAB was found to decrease cellular ROS levels and enhance ATP production. In vivo This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article studies further revealed that SAB ameliorates age-related decline in muscle function, potentially through promoting TP53INP2 expression to enhance autophagy. These findings provide novel insights into the potential applications of SAB in the field of anti-aging research. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that SAB exerts beneficial effects on cellular aging markers, including SASP, ROS, and ATP levels, and alleviates age-related decline in muscle function.
Keywords: Autophagy4, cellular senescence2, muscle5, Salvianolic acid B1, SASP3
Received: 20 Dec 2025; Accepted: 11 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 KAIXIN, Hu, Zhao, Xu, Zhang, He, Peng, Chen, Ju, Wu and Ge. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Shu Wu
Yuanlong Ge
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