We've noticed a broader trend for more holistic and natural health solutions, which is why fisetin supplements are becoming more popular. Offering multiple health benefits, from antioxidant support and neuroprotection to support for healthy inflammation and overall cellular health, we can see why they have become so sought after.
But with the flood of information and sometimes exaggerated claims about fisetin's benefits, it's important to set realistic expectations.
Fisetin Benefits Based on Research
Many of the health claims on fisetin supplements come from scientific research, which is often taken to extremes. For instance, just because fisetin has been shown to suppress tumor growth in animal models doesn't mean that taking over-the-counter fisetin supplements will give you the same outcome.
Most of these studies use very high doses of fisetin or administration methods like intravenous, which aren't accessible at your local supplement store.
Moreover, fisetin supplements are only dietary supplements—not drugs—which means they do have limitations. They're not meant to treat, cure, or mitigate any disease. Instead, nutritional supplements enrich your diet and complement healthy lifestyle choices.
Senolytic Support For Cellular Health
One of the most highlighted benefits of fisetin is its potential as a senolytic agent.
Senolytics are compounds that help clean up senescent cells—cells that have stopped dividing and can produce chemicals that contribute to inflammation and signs of aging in surrounding cells.
Animal studies have shown that fisetin can selectively eliminate these harmful cells, improving tissue function and potentially extending lifespan [1]. However, these effects have yet to be thoroughly studied in humans, and fisetin should not be considered an elixir of youth.
Antioxidant Support
As a powerful flavonol, commonly found in foods like strawberries, apples, and persimmons, fisetin is recognized for its high antioxidant potential [2].
Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals, unstable molecules that damage cells and contribute to aging and various diseases. Adding more antioxidant-rich foods to your diet can support the body's natural antioxidant defenses, potentially diminishing oxidative stress and promoting overall wellness.
Brain Health
Scientists have observed that fisetin may help improve memory and protect against cognitive decline in animal models [3].
In even more exciting news, it has been observed that fisetin has supported the growth of new neurons (brain cells) and may enhance synaptic activity, which is important for maintaining memory and learning [4].
The research on fisetin and brain health is very early, so it's not a definitive outcome of taking fisetin supplements in humans. Still, we hope to see more research on fisetin and age-related diseases on the brain.
Health Inflammation
Inflammation is incredibly complex. It's part of the immune system and is needed to keep us healthy. Still, too much inflammation (chronic inflammation) has been linked to many conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis.
Research suggests that fisetin may support the body's natural inflammatory processes by keeping pro-inflammatory cytokines balanced [5]. Again, this doesn't necessarily mean you should reach for fisetin capsules for your next arthritis flare-up, but having a diet richer in fisetin may help to support healthy inflammation in your body overall.
Can Fisetin Help Cancer?
In laboratory studies, including animal models and isolated human tissue, fisetin has shown potential anti-cancer properties. It appears to inhibit the growth of various tumor cells and induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in these cells [6].
That being said, these studies are preliminary and have not been conducted on live humans. Cell culture studies behave very differently than normal cells within live humans, so fisetin hasn't been FDA-approved as a drug for cancer treatment.
Cancer is a very complex disease that requires comprehensive medical care and should not be something that you experiment with on your own with dietary supplements.
Benefits of Taking Fisetin Supplements
The main reason why people take fisetin supplements is for convenience.
Yes, you can find fisetin in your foods, but it's never in the same concentrations as fisetin supplements, which can be 50 mg—1000 mg+.
One important factor to note is that many top fisetin supplements aren't bioavailable because of their fat-soluble nature. This means that even with 50 mg - 100 mg doses of fisetin supplements, your body might not be using all of it.
To get around this, you can opt for higher doses of fisetin like 500 mg+, and you should take your fisetin pills with a light meal, preferably one with healthy fats to aid in its absorption.
There are some supplements, like our brand new Neurogan Health Liposomal Fisetin, that combine liposomal technology with naturally derived fisetin to encapsulate the fisetin compound in a plant-based fat, to help with its absorption, potentially delivering the benefits of fisetin more efficiently.
Limitations with Fisetin
Fisetin is a naturally occurring flavonol compound being studied for its potential against age-related diseases.
That said, fisetin supplements aren't FDA-approved to treat, cure, or mitigate any disease. They're designed to offer a more concentrated and easily accessible fisetin, complementing a healthy diet.
If you're researching fisetin supplements and are coming across claims on cancer prevention, protection against anti-inflammatory diseases, and anti-cancer claims, we urge you to be careful in your purchases and use of fisetin. Fisetin isn't a drug and won't cause immediate changes to your physiological function, so please set realistic expectations and understand that while fisetin shows promise in various areas, much of the research is still in the early stages and primarily conducted in lab settings.
Resources:
- Yousefzadeh, M. J., Zhu, Y. I., McGowan, S. J., Angelini, L., Fuhrmann-Stroissnigg, H., Xu, M., ... & Niedernhofer, L. J. (2018). Fisetin is a senotherapeutic that extends health and lifespan. EBioMedicine, 36, 18-28.
- Naeimi, A. F., & Alizadeh, M. (2017). Antioxidant properties of the flavonoid fisetin: An updated review of in vivo and in vitro studies. Trends in food science & technology, 70, 34-44.
- Fazel Nabavi, S., Braidy, N., Habtemariam, S., Sureda, A., Manayi, A., & Mohammad Nabavi, S. (2016). Neuroprotective effects of fisetin in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases: From chemistry to medicine. Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry, 16(17), 1910-1915.
- Ravula, A. R., Teegala, S. B., Kalakotla, S., Pasangulapati, J. P., Perumal, V., & Boyina, H. K. (2021). Fisetin, potential flavonoid with multifarious targets for treating neurological disorders: An updated review. European journal of pharmacology, 910, 174492.
- Khan, N., Syed, D. N., Ahmad, N., & Mukhtar, H. (2013). Fisetin: a dietary antioxidant for health promotion. Antioxidants & redox signaling, 19(2), 151-162.
- Jia, S., Xu, X., Zhou, S., Chen, Y., Ding, G., & Cao, L. (2019). Fisetin induces autophagy in pancreatic cancer cells via endoplasmic reticulum stress-and mitochondrial stress-dependent pathways. Cell death & disease, 10(2), 142.
