Sirtuin 6: This under-the-radar protein could be the key to longevity

Humanity’s perennial quest has been for the fountain of youth — long before healthspans, biohacking and longevity became buzzwords. It’s a search that has taken on a precise focus as scientific research — and breakthroughs — have started to deliver tangible possibilities. NAD+ and NMN are already familiar names in the longevity lexicon, but now sirtuins are moving into the spotlight.

These seven protein enzymes found in our cells regulate cellular health, metabolism, stress and ageing. They become less active, and therefore less effective, as we age, slowing our repair systems, impacting energy production and impairing cellular defence.

One in particular — Sirtuin 6 — has intrigued longevity researchers for years. “It sits at the intersection of several processes that are fundamental to ageing,” says Dr Vera Gorbunova, a longevity scientist who is also a scientific advisory board member at health research organisation DoNotAge.org. Involved in multiple critical cellular processes in our bodies, Sirtuin 6 “helps repair damaged DNA, protect the genome, regulate inflammation and maintain healthy cellular function,” says Alan Graves, DoNotAge’s founder and clinical research advisor.

“It sits at the intersection of several processes that are fundamental to ageing”

Dr Vera Gorbunova

Over the past two decades, Gorbunova’s research into long-lived animal species, including naked mole rats and bowhead whales, shows that the longer mammals live, the higher the Sirtuin 6 activity. “One recurring theme is much better maintenance and repair of the genome,” she says, meaning slower ageing and protection against age-related diseases. “SIRT6 has evolved to be more effective in longer-lived species.” Graves adds that high levels of Sirtuin 6 activity are also found in humans over 100 years old.

It’s this conclusion that underpins DoNotAge’s SIRT6 Activator. The supplement is designed to be taken long-term. Backed by Gorbunova’s research, it’s derived from a specific type of fucoidan — a compound found in brown seaweed. It “activates Sirtuin 6, which in turn supports DNA repair and the maintenance of a more youthful, stable epigenome,” she says. “We’re not adding SIRT6,” says Graves, “we’re giving your existing SIRT6 a helping hand so it can perform its protective functions like it did when you were young.”

A study by Dr Haim Cohen, a molecular biologist, showed that genetically upping Sirtuin 6 increased the healthy lifespan of mice by 30 per cent. Studies into increasing Sirtuin 6 in humans are in fairly early stages, but a University of North Carolina study found that Sirtuin 6 activation improved DNA repair in aged human cells.

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Creating the activator is no mean feat — “it can take six months of harvesting the seaweed, testing a batch, failing, then repeating until we find a batch that is a strong activator,” says Graves. Testing happens at Gorbunova’s lab in New York — “most fucoidan does not work, and some are even harmful,” she says. When the right fucoidan is harvested, tested, processed and then taken, notable effects are things you can’t necessarily feel — it’s “what’s happening underneath the surface and what that could mean over decades,” says Graves.

An ongoing trial exploring the efficacy of fucoidan by the National University of Singapore began in 2025, testing the hypothesis that supplementing with fucoidan activates Sirtuin 6 effectively. Results are expected early next year.

But, for Gorbunova, slowing ageing is only the beginning. The next step is rejuvenating — “the possibility of restoring a younger epigenetic state without changing the identity of the cell,” she says — bringing that elusive fountain ever closer.