2026 Study: Garlic-Derived Sulfur Compounds Extend Lifespan 11.4% in Mice

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by Nils Osmar

A new study published in Cell Metabolism shows that diallyl sulforated compounds (DAS) which are naturally found in garlic, extended median lifespan by 11.4% in wild-type male mice.

For reference, this is nearly twice the life extension found in mice given metformin. (See study: Metformin improves healthspan and lifespan in mice) The metformin study found that 0.1% metformin supplement led to a 5.83% extension of mean lifespan in C57BL/6 mice. So the garlic paper’s comparison is precise: 11.4% vs. 5.83%.

Interestigly, both studies had the same lead researcher. Alejandro Martín-Montalvo, making the comparison specific and meaningful.

The Details

The treatment began at 20 weeks of age and continued throughout life, with the compounds freshly added to food weekly.

The garlic compounds in question (specifically diallyl disulfide/DAD and diallyl trisulfide/DAT) boost non-enzymatic production of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), a gasotransmitter involved in antioxidant defense, mitochondrial function, and cellular signaling through a process called protein persulfidation.

Living Longer and Better

The treated mice didn’t just live longer — they lived better. Across their lifespan, they showed improved glucose regulation with dramatically lower insulin levels during glucose challenges, enhanced insulin sensitivity on both healthy and high-fat diets, better locomotor function (grip strength, wire hang, rotarod), improved neurocognition (fear conditioning, novel object recognition, spatial memory), and increased energy expenditure.

At the tissue level, the researchers found smaller hepatic lipid droplets (suggesting better fat metabolism), downregulation of mTOR and inflammatory pathways — both well-established targets of longevity interventions — and increased cysteine persulfidation of proteins.

Human Data

In a cohort of 288 individuals with multiple health conditions, higher plasma protein persulfidation correlated with greater grip strength, lower triglycerides, and reduced rates of frailty, depression, and delirium.

Important Caveats

The longevity study was only conducted in male mice. The authors note that female mice naturally produce more H₂S, and sex differences in response are likely.

As a side note, the question of whether human females have higher total systemic H₂S levels than human males is less cleanly established. We do know that the enzymatic machinery is estrogen-responsive in humans, and estrogen levels are higher in premenopausal women, so the inference is reasonable. But circulating H₂S levels are difficult to measure accurately, and comprehensive sex-stratified human data is not yet available.

The compounds were pharmaceutical-grade and dosed precisely. Garlic is a natural source of these compounds. — but humans might or might not get similar benefits from eating garlic cloves.

Could This Benefit All Ages

The plain truth is, we don’t know.

The untreated C57BL/6J mice had a median lifespan of 787 days — that’s about 112 weeks, or roughly 26 months. This is typical for this strain and roughly analogous to a human lifespan of ~75-80 years.

Treatment started at 20 weeks, which is only about 18% of the way through their lifespan — so quite early. The test animals were young adults, not middle-aged by human standards. The standard rough conversion for C57BL/6J mice puts 20 weeks (5 months) at approximately the equivalent of a human in their early-to-mid 20s. Mice reach sexual maturity around 6-8 weeks and are considered fully mature adults by about 12 weeks, so at 20 weeks they’re past adolescence but still considered young.

Will Humans Live Longer if We Eat Garlic?

The short answer is — no one knows.

It is not known whether eating garlic (or consuming the compounds of question) extends lifespan in human beings. We are too long-lived to test longevity interventions easily; it would take decades to be sure of an effect in humans, and decades more to verify the results.

The study also does not establish whether eating garlic would extend lifespan if started at a later age. Some longevity interventions (like calorie restriction and BCAA restriction) show diminished effects when started later in life. Others, like rapamycin, have shown benefits even when started late.

Post-Menopausal Women

The study raises one intriguing question (though the authors don’t address it): if H₂S production naturally declines with age in humans, and postmenopausal women lose the estrogen-driven boost to H₂S production, could garlic-derived sulfur compounds be especially relevant for older women?

The study did not test or focus on this, but the biology suggests it might be worth investigating. There might in theory be profound health benefits to older women to begin taking garlic supplements or eating garlic. To be clear, this is speculation on my part, but the mechanisms suggest that there might be a connection with exploring.

Why This Study Matters

From my perspective, studies like this matter a great deal because they suggest that the casual offhand decisions that we make daily, such as whether to reach for the garlic when we’re seasoning our meals (or take aged garlic supplements) could in theory end up having a profound impact on both our health and longevity.

What I’m Doing

There’s no way of knowing for certain whether eating garlic will extend the human lifespan. But it’s unlikely to have the opposite effect, and garlic has other well-established health benefits. Including foods that have been found to increase lifespan in mammals in our diets, and are known to have health benefits in humans, strikes me as an obvious intervention that is likely to be associated with a longer, healthier life. So I cook with garlic regularly. I’ll be continuing to do so and increasing my intake of it as a result of the study. I have also resumed taking a garlic extract supplement.

Summing Up

The study is a strong demonstration of the fact that enhanced H₂S signaling can serve as a geroprotective intervention in mammals. The effect size exceeds metformin, the pathways involved (mTOR suppression, improved insulin sensitivity, reduced inflammation, lipid remodeling) overlap with calorie restriction and rapamycin, and the compounds come from a food humans have consumed for millennia. The authors conclude that further research is needed to determine optimal exposure levels for humans.

Full paper (open access): https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(25)00526-1

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