# Vitamin C Eased Iron-Driven Aging Signs in Old Monkeys

_Evidence Level: Preliminary · Liu L et al., Cell metabolism, DOI 10.1016/j.cmet.2026.02.010_

*Vitamin C inhibits ACSL4 to alleviate ferro-aging in primates.*

- **Evidence Level**: Preliminary
- **Why this grade**: Experiments in old monkeys over more than 40 months, plus mice; results from animals cannot be applied directly to humans.
- **Facts**: Design: Animal study · Duration: 3.3 years · Funding: National Natural Science Foundation of China
- **Population**: Animal study
- **Publication Types**: Journal Article
- **Journal**: Cell metabolism
- **Sample Size**: Aged monkeys and mice, number not stated
- **Authors**: Liu L, Zheng Z, You W, Yang P, Wen Y, Qiao Y, Ma S, Zhang H, Zhang S, Xu G, Ma C, Tian A, Jiang M, Zhang T, Geng L, Li J, Sun X, Wang F, Xiong M, Yang Y, Lu X, Jiang X, Dong X, Zhang Z, Huang Y, Zhang B, Qiao Q, Sun S, Fan Y, Cai Y, Yan K, Zhang Y, Jing Y, Wang Q, Lei J, Tan A, Han Z, Reddy P, Haghani A, Rodriguez Esteban C, Zhang F, Liu Z, Liu N, Wang S, Horvath S, Yang J, Izpisua Belmonte JC, Zhang W, Qu J, Liu GH
- **Graded and published**: 2026-03-11
- **Last edited**: 2026-10-19
- **Topics**: Aging Biology, Supplements, Senescence
- **DOI**: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2026.02.010
- **Original Source**: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41819088/

## Summary

As the years pass, iron builds up in many tissues. Researchers saw this in tissue samples from humans and other primates. The iron fuels slow, ongoing damage to fats inside cells, steered by an enzyme called ACSL4. The team calls this "ferro-aging", meaning aging driven by iron. It pushes cells into an aged state where they stop dividing, and it wears down organs.

In mice, the researchers blocked ACSL4 in the liver using gene editing, and the animals showed fewer signs of aging. A search for compounds that block the enzyme turned up vitamin C, which binds to it directly. Old monkeys then received vitamin C for more than 40 months. Signs of ferro-aging dropped across many tissues, and organ damage was milder. The nervous system and metabolism worked better. Several aging clocks, which estimate biological age from many molecular measurements, gave younger readings.

All of this comes from monkeys and mice. Whether vitamin C acts the same way in people was not tested. The study summary gives neither the dose nor the number of animals.

## Practical Takeaway

In old monkeys, more than 40 months of vitamin C reduced signs of iron-driven aging across many tissues.

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_Canonical: https://longevity-germany.com/en/research/vitamin-c-eased-iron-driven-aging-signs-in-old-monkeys · Part of Longevity Cities · Updated 2026-10-19_