Practical guideline for applying Caenorhabditis elegans as an aging model in food and nutritional research.

Abstract

Aging is a time-dependent process characterized by a gradual decline in physiological functions, ultimately leading to increased risk of degenerative diseases, health issues, and death. With the growing number of older people and rising health issues related to aging, it is crucial to find ways to slow down aging to enhance overall health. However, current research efforts that focus solely on extending lifespan may not necessarily reflect improvements in health during later life, known as 'healthspan'. Studying aging in mammals is challenging due to the long timeframes involved, so scientists often use short-lived animals as models. One such model is Caenorhabditis elegans, a microscopic roundworm with an average lifespan of about 3 weeks, and much of what we know about aging has been learned from research using C. elegans. This review aims to summarize how C. elegans is used in aging research, such as methods for measuring lifespan and healthspan, identifying major signaling pathways and their associated genes, and understanding the model's limitations to provide practical guidelines for researchers interested in studying aging. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.