Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41099966›Full record

ArticleGeroScience2026

Sulforaphane improves exercise-induced NRF2 signaling in older adults: an in vivo-ex vivo approach.

Dominick J Rodriguez, Ethan L Ostrom, Connor Chassman, Jay Robertson, Vincent Pan, Robert Buscaglia, Aimee L Eggler, Tinna Traustadóttir

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in GeroScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04848792 (Treatment Strategy to Enhance Nrf2 Signaling in Older Adults), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT04848792 nacompletednot on this map

Treatment Strategy to Enhance Nrf2 Signaling in Older Adults: Combining Acute Exercise With the Phytochemical Sulforaphane

TypeinterventionalSponsorNorthern Arizona UniversityRan2023 to 2025Enrolled32ConditionsAging ProblemsArmsSulforaphane, Placebo capsules
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Dominick J RodriguezDepartment of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, PO Box 5640, Flagstaff, AZ, USA.
Ethan L OstromDepartment of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, PO Box 5640, Flagstaff, AZ, USA.
Connor ChassmanDepartment of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, PO Box 5640, Flagstaff, AZ, USA.
Jay RobertsonDepartment of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, PO Box 5640, Flagstaff, AZ, USA.
Vincent PanDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Villanova University, Villanova, PA, USA.
Robert BuscagliaDepartment of Mathematics and Statistics, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA.
Aimee L EgglerDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Villanova University, Villanova, PA, USA.
Tinna TraustadóttirDepartment of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, PO Box 5640, Flagstaff, AZ, USA. tinna.traustadottir@nau.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-7149-1025

Funding

Treatment strategy to enhance Nrf2 signaling in older adults: combining acute exercise with the phytochemical sulforaphaneR15AG074088 · NIA · NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY · PI TRAUSTADOTTIR, TINNA · 2022 to 2022
$449k
NIA NIH HHS R15 AG074088
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Redox signaling is a key mechanism of exercise-induced adaptation. However, studies have demonstrated impaired responses to acute exercise in older organisms. Adjunctive therapies to augment exercise effects may overcome these deficits. Sulforaphane (SFN), a phytochemical from cruciferous vegetables, stimulates NRF2. This study tested the hypothesis that combining acute exercise (in vivo stimulus) with ex vivo SFN treatment would induce greater NRF2 activation and signaling in older adults compared to either treatment alone. Twenty-five older adults (12 men, 13 women; mean age: 67 ± 5 years) performed 30-min cycling exercise (AET). Blood was drawn before and immediately after the AET to isolate PBMCs and incubate with and without SFN (5 µM) treatment (four conditions: DMSO (CON), SFN, exercise (EX), and EX + SFN). PBMCs were harvested after 2-h or 5-h incubation for measures of NRF2 or gene expression for NQO1, HO-1, GR, and GCLC targets, respectively. All treatments (SFN, EX, EX + SFN) increased NRF2 activation compared to CON (p < 0.05). The response to EX + SFN was significantly greater than either SFN or EX alone (2.1-fold versus 1.5-fold, p = 0.01). SFN stimulation resulted in a significant upregulation of all four genes compared to control (p < 0.001). EX + SFN treatment stimulated a greater increase in gene expression compared to EX (p < 0.05); however, SFN did not differ statistically from EX + SFN, suggesting a possible ceiling effect of the SFN concentration in terms of gene expression. There were no significant sex differences in any of the responses. These data suggest that combining exercise with SFN may amplify the strength of NRF2/ARE redox signaling in older adults. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04848792.

Indexed as

ExerciseIsothiocyanatesNF-E2-Related Factor 2AgedAnticarcinogenic AgentsFemaleHumansLeukocytes, MononuclearMaleMiddle AgedNAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone)Signal TransductionSulfoxidesAnticarcinogenic AgentsIsothiocyanatesNAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone)NFE2L2 protein, humanNF-E2-Related Factor 2sulforaphaneSulfoxidesAgingExerciseRedox signalingSulforaphane

Identifiers

PMID41099966
PMCPMC12972497

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.