Pterostilbene is a naturally occurring compound found in small amounts in fruits and vegetables, especially blueberries. It is structurally related to resveratrol, and preclinical pharmacokinetic studies report higher oral bioavailability for pterostilbene compared with resveratrol. Pterostilbene has been investigated in preclinical models for potential roles in aging-related biology, including inflammatory signaling, oxidative-stress responses, and metabolic/nutrient-sensing pathways (often discussed in the context of AMPK- and sirtuin-related signaling in experimental systems). Some studies also explore pterostilbene in brain-related models, but evidence for longevity or health benefits in humans is not established.

This Article Covers:

• What is Pterostilbene?
• What are the Benefits of Pterostilbene? 
• How Does Pterostilbene impact longevity? 
• How Does Pterostilbene Compare to Resveratrol?
• Why is Pterostilbene included in NOVOS Core?

Key Takeaways

✔ Pterostilbene occurs naturally in small amounts in fruits and vegetables, especially blueberries.

✔ Compared with resveratrol, pharmacokinetic studies report higher oral bioavailability for pterostilbene.

✔ In some preclinical lifespan models, pterostilbene has been reported to extend lifespan under specific conditions.

✔ Sirtuin-related signaling has been implicated in pterostilbene research in experimental systems.

✔ Cellular stress-response and maintenance pathways are also areas where pterostilbene has been investigated (preclinical).

✔ AMPK signaling has been reported to be influenced/activated by pterostilbene in certain cell and animal models.

✔ Inflammatory signaling can be reduced in experimental models exposed to pterostilbene, depending on the system and dose.

✔ Oxidative-stress resilience and antioxidant defenses have been reported to improve in several preclinical models.

✔ Protein homeostasis has been explored in preclinical studies, including pathways related to protein handling/clearance.

✔ Brain-related outcomes have been studied in animal/cell models, with reports of neuroprotective and cognition-related effects, without establishing human benefits.

What Is Pterostilbene and Where Is It Found?

Blueberries are often cited as one of the richest sources of pterostilbene. However, the amount of pterostilbene in blueberries is much lower than what is found in food supplements or used in scientific studies (typically reported in the nanogram-to–low microgram per gram range, depending on species and how it’s measured, versus tens of milligrams used in supplements and studies, for example, around 50 mg/day in some clinical trials) (R).
Pterostilbene is part of a class of polyphenolic substances called stilbenes, which also includes resveratrol and piceatannol (R).

What are The Benefits of Pterostilbene?

Many studies demonstrate beneficial effects of pterostilbene on health and the aging process. 

Pterostilbene has been shown to offer the following benefits:

• Reduce oxidative-stress markers and oxidative injury.
• Suppress inflammatory signaling, including NF-κB–related pathways, in multiple models.
• Induce autophagy in specific experimental systems (cell and animal models).
• Improve cognitive performance in some animal studies
• Influence DNA damage/repair pathways in specific experimental contexts.
• Affect epigenetic markers in cell-based studies.

How Does Pterostilbene Improve Oxidative Stress? 

In preclinical models, pterostilbene has been shown to reduce oxidative stress:

• Upregulates antioxidant enzyme activity/expression (in some models)
• Supports endogenous antioxidant defenses

In certain animal studies, pterostilbene reduced oxidative stress alongside higher activity of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GR) (R,R).
Because redox biology is largely regulated through endogenous defense systems, many researchers argue that supporting internal antioxidant pathways may be more meaningful than relying solely on direct “radical scavenging” from oral antioxidant supplements (R).

How Does Pterostilbene Reduce Inflammation? 

In preclinical models, pterostilbene has been shown to reduce inflammatory signaling:

• Reduces COX-2–related inflammatory signaling

Low-grade inflammatory signaling can increase with age, and pterostilbene has been reported to modulate several inflammation-related pathways in experimental systems. For example, some cell and animal studies report reduced COX-2–associated inflammatory mediators under pro-inflammatory conditions. (R, R, R)

How Does Pterostilbene Induce Autophagy? 

In preclinical studies, pterostilbene has been reported to support autophagy, the cell’s built-in “cleanup and recycling” system.

• Clear out accumulated cellular “waste”
• Remove damaged parts inside the cell
• Recycle building blocks to keep cells functioning well

Autophagy often becomes less active with age. In some experimental models, pterostilbene has been linked to AMPK–mTOR signaling, a major control system for autophagy. AMPK is a cellular energy sensor, and when AMPK signaling is higher, it can reduce mTOR signaling, while mTOR is known to suppress autophagy. Together, this provides one plausible way pterostilbene may help promote autophagy in specific preclinical settings. (R,R). 

How Does Pterostilbene Induce Epigenetic Changes? 

In preclinical research, pterostilbene has been reported to influence epigenetic regulation, chemical “tags” that help control which genes are turned on or off, including changes in DNA methylation and histone-related marks in cell models (R , R).

• Activates sirtuins (SIRT1-related signaling)

In some experimental systems, pterostilbene has also been linked to SIRT1-related signaling. SIRT1 is an enzyme involved in chromatin regulation and stress-response biology, and SIRT1/AMPK pathways are often discussed together in the context of metabolism and mitochondrial function (R, R).

Overall, these findings are preclinical and describe pathway-level effects in specific models, they do not establish lifespan extension or DNA-repair improvements in humans.

How Does Pterostilbene Improve Brain Function? 

In preclinical research, pterostilbene has been studied for brain-related effects, including changes in pathways involved in learning and memory.

• Increases BDNF signaling in some models
• Increases CREB-related signaling in some models

In animal studies, pterostilbene has been reported to improve performance on cognitive tasks (including working-memory–relevant tests in aged rats)(R). In additional disease- or stress-related animal models, pterostilbene has been linked to CREB/BDNF-related pathways and neuroprotective outcomes, but these findings are preclinical and do not establish benefits in humans (R, R, R). 

What Is The Role of Pterostilbene in Longevity?

Pterostilbene has been investigated for its potential role in lifespan regulation in established aging models. In a controlled study using Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies), dietary pterostilbene supplementation was shown to significantly increase mean lifespan, with the largest reported improvement reaching ~20% under the tested conditions (R).

Beyond lifespan outcomes, the study reported that pterostilbene influenced several molecular pathways linked to aging and stress resilience. These included increased expression of genes involved in longevity and stress-response regulation, such as Sir2 (sirtuin signaling) and Foxo, along with modulation of markers related to oxidative stress and inflammatory signaling in this experimental system. Together, these findings suggest that pterostilbene can interact with conserved biological mechanisms relevant to aging, at least in invertebrate models.

Importantly, these results are preclinical and limited to fruit fly models. While they support further investigation into pterostilbene as a longevity-related compound, they do not establish lifespan extension effects in mammals or humans.

Pterostilbene vs. Resveratrol: Which Is More Effective?

Pterostilbene and resveratrol are closely related plant stilbenes. Resveratrol became widely known after early studies reported health and longevity-related effects in some experimental models, and it’s sometimes (incorrectly) linked to “red wine as an anti-aging tool” (R). In mice, however, resveratrol has not consistently extended lifespan under standard conditions, for example, studies report no lifespan extension in lean mice on a standard diet, and large multi-site testing in genetically heterogeneous mice has reported no significant lifespan benefit (R, R).

One challenge with resveratrol is pharmacokinetics: it is rapidly metabolized, with a short plasma half-life reported in the minutes range, while metabolites can persist longer (R, R). Pterostilbene is a dimethylated analog of resveratrol (fewer hydroxyl groups), which may contribute to improved metabolic stability and higher systemic exposure in preclinical studies. In a head-to-head pharmacokinetic comparison in rats, pterostilbene showed substantially higher oral bioavailability than resveratrol, reported at ~80% vs ~20% (R).

Because of these pharmacokinetic limitations with resveratrol, researchers have explored related compounds and more selective sirtuin-activating molecules (for example, SRT2104) in human studies (R,R).

NOVOS CORE & Pterostilbene