Marine Bioactives in Liver Aging: Mechanistic Insights and Translational Potential

The liver is a central regulator of systemic metabolism and exhibits exceptional regenerative capacity, yet aging progressively impairs hepatic resilience through metabolic dysregulation, mitochondrial dysfunction, epigenetic instability, and chronic inflammation. Marine ecosystems constitute a vast and underexplored source of structurally diverse bioactive compounds that have evolved to modulate conserved stress response and homeostatic pathways. This review synthesizes current preclinical evidence demonstrating how marine-derived metabolites target key molecular axes implicated in liver aging, including energy sensing, redox balance, mitochondrial quality control, inflammatory signaling, and chromatin-associated regulation. Rather than focusing solely on isolated hepatoprotective effects, we frame marine bioactives within an aging biology perspective, highlighting their ability to modulate pathways associated with cellular plasticity and resilience. We further propose that this mechanistic convergence provides a theoretical framework for exploring marine compounds as potential adjunctive modulators within emerging, experimental liver rejuvenation strategies, including partial cellular reprogramming approaches that require coordinated metabolic and epigenetic control. While acknowledging that direct reversal of liver aging remains to be clinically established, integrating marine chemodiversity with contemporary aging and regenerative biology outlines a conceptual roadmap for developing liver-directed interventions targeting aging-related vulnerability as a fundamental driver of disease.