Cell stem cellOct 15, 2025

Vitamin C may protect aging primate ovaries

Longevity & Aging Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Jan 19, 2026

Abstract

Oral vitamin C may reduce the biological age of oocytes by 1.35 years and somatic cells by 5.66 years.

Vitamin C has geroprotective effects against ovarian aging in monkeys over a 3.3-year study.
Key aging biomarkers, such as oxidative stress and follicular depletion, are diminished by vitamin C.
The NRF2 pathway is involved in the effects of vitamin C, reducing ovarian cell aging and inflammation.
Findings suggest potential avenues for interventions targeting ovarian aging in humans.

Simplified

Ovarian aging plays a pivotal role in female reproductive health, with implications for treatment strategies and quality of life. However, the potential of a single pharmaceutical agent to mitigate primate ovarian aging remains largely unexplored. Our 3.3-year study in monkeys demonstrates that oral vitamin C has geroprotective effects against ovarian aging. Vitamin C diminishes key aging biomarkers, including oxidative stress and follicular depletion. Using a single-cell transcriptomic clock, we show that vitamin C can reduce the biological age of oocytes by 1.35 years and somatic cells by 5.66 years. This effect is partly mediated by the NRF2 pathway, which alleviates ovarian cell senescence and inflammation. Our findings highlight the role of vitamin C in combating primate ovarian aging and provide insights for developing interventions against human ovarian aging.

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Funding

Competing interests

Declaration of interests J.C.I.B. and C.R.E. are employees of Altos Labs.

PubMed

Vitamin C may protect aging primate ovaries

Abstract

Full Text

Funding

Competing interests

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