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Therapeutics

Cycloastragenol

Cycloastragenol is the 'aglycone' (sugar-free core) of astragaloside IV. It is a cycloartane-type triterpenoid, made by breaking down a compound from Astragalus membranaceus root, a herb you may know from traditional medicine. In cell assays, it mildly and briefly switches on telomerase (the enzyme TERT), and it has been reported to improve heart, brain, and metabolic readouts in rodents. Human data are thin: just small studies of the branded TA-65 product. No independent, rigorous trial exists for free-form cycloastragenol on aging endpoints. Toxicity and gene-damage studies support its use as a food supplement, and it is sold in the US under DSHEA and in the EU as a food supplement. But it has no approved drug use anywhere as of 2026.

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Sources

  1. Yu Y, Zhou L, Yang Y, et al.. (2018). Cycloastragenol: An exciting novel candidate for age-associated diseases (Review). *Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine*doi:10.3892/etm.2018.6501
  2. Sevimli-Gür C, Yıldız S, Çiğdem H, et al.. (2022). A comprehensive review of cycloastragenol: Biological activity, mechanism of action and structural modifications. *Phytomedicine Plus*doi:10.1016/j.phyplu.2022.100201
  3. Szabo NJ. (2014). Dietary safety of cycloastragenol from Astragalus spp.: Subchronic toxicity and genotoxicity studies. *Food and Chemical Toxicology*doi:10.1016/j.fct.2013.11.041