A plant compound from Japanese knotweed root, taken up as a longevity candidate because it appeared to switch on the cell's low-fuel machinery. In simple organisms and overfed mice that held; in people it has not translated cleanly. The most consistent human signal is better blood vessel widening. Almost none of a swallowed dose survives intact. Nothing shows longer life. (Full Review)
| Marker | Target | Why |
|---|---|---|
| LDL-C | < 80 mg/dL | Detects the documented cholesterol rise at high dose |
| ApoB | < 80 mg/dL | Counts atherogenic particles more reliably than cholesterol mass |
| ALT | 10–26 U/L (men), 8–22 U/L (women) | Detects the hepatic stress signal seen at very high dose |
| AST | 10–26 U/L | Confirms an ALT rise is hepatic rather than muscular |
| hs-CRP | < 0.5 mg/L | Tracks the claimed anti-inflammatory benefit |
| HbA1c | 4.8–5.3% | Tracks the claimed glycemic benefit over three months |
| Fasting insulin | 2–5 µIU/mL | More sensitive than glucose to early insulin resistance |
| Ferritin | 50–150 ng/mL (men), 30–120 ng/mL (women) | Addresses the isolated reports of iron depletion |
| Bone mineral density | T-score above −1.0 | The only imaging endpoint with a demonstrated effect |
| INR | 2.0–3.0 if on warfarin, otherwise 0.8–1.2 | Detects the anticoagulant interaction before bleeding occurs |
Cadence: Baseline before starting; lipids and liver enzymes at 12 weeks, then every 6–12 months if stable; glucose, insulin and inflammation markers at 6 months; bone density at 12–24 months; INR weekly for the first month of combined use