Leaf extract of Caesalpinia mimosoides enhances oxidative stress resistance and prolongs lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

Background Caesalpinia mimosoides , a vegetable consumed in Thailand, has been reported to exhibit in vitro antioxidant properties. The in vivo antioxidant and anti-aging activities have not been investigated. The aim of this research was to study the antioxidant activity of C. mimosoides extracts in Caenorhabditis elegans, a widely used model organism in this context. Methods C. elegans were treated with C. mimosoides extracts in a various concentrations. To investigate the protective effects of the extract against oxidative stress, wild-type N2 were used to determine survival rate under oxidative stress and intracellular ROS. To study underlying mechanisms, the mutant strains with GFP reporter gene including TJ356, CF1553, EU1 and LD4 were used to study DAF-16, SOD-3, SKN-1 and GST-4 gene, respectively. Lifespan and aging pigment of the worms were also investigated. Results A leaf extract of C. mimosoides improved resistance to oxidative stress and reduced intracellular ROS accumulation in nematodes. The antioxidant effects were mediated through the DAF-16/FOXO pathway and SOD-3 expression, whereas the expression of SKN-1 and GST-4 were not altered. The extract also prolonged lifespan and decreased aging pigments, while the body length and brood size of the worms were not affected by the extract, indicating low toxicity and excluding dietary restriction. Conclusions The results of this study establish the antioxidant activity of C. mimosoides extract in vivo and suggest its potential as a dietary supplement and alternative medicine to defend against oxidative stress and aging, which should be investigated in intervention studies. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12906-019-2578-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model Organism to Evaluate the Antioxidant Effects of Phytochemicals

“…Ideally, a translational reporter includes the entire genomic locus of a gene and preferably should not be disrupting the protein function or topology [ 39 ]. DAF-16::GFP and SKN-1::GFP are two of the most used reporters in the study of phytochemicals activity in C. elegans [ 21 , 22 , 85 , 151 ].…”

“…Thereby, when GFP fluorescence is detected in the intestinal nuclei the signaling pathway is classified as active. It has been found, for instance, that the treatment with myricetin [ 25 ] or leaf extract of Caesalpinia mimosoides [ 151 ] did not change the location of the SKN-1. However, the exposure to Glochidion zeylanicum leaf extract induced a significant translocation of SKN-1::GFP [ 153 ].…”

“…Using the transgenic strain Pgst-4::gfp , it was demonstrated that the treatment of worms with curcumin [ 135 ], epicatechin [ 21 ] or Glochidion zeylanicum leaf extract [ 153 ] increased GST-4 expression. However, no change in GST-4 expression was found for quercetin [ 22 ] or leaf extract of Caesalpinia mimosoides [ 151 ].…”

A Dihydroflavonoid Naringin Extends the Lifespan of C. elegans and Delays the Progression of Aging-Related Diseases in PD/AD Models via DAF-16

“…Lipofuscin accumulation assay was conducted as previously reported [ 30 – 32 ]. Wild-type animals at L4 larvae or young adults were treated with naringin; then, the intestinal autofluorescence of lipofuscin was analyzed on the 2nd and 5th days of adulthood.…”

“…The subcellular locations of DAF-16::GFP were determined using the transgenic strain TJ356 daf - 16 ( zls356IV ). L4 larvae were transferred to the plates containing 50 μ M of naringin and cultured for 48 h at 20°C [ 29 , 32 ]. The image of DAF-16::GFP signal was captured by using a fluorescence microscope system (Leica, DFC 7000T) and analyzed by using the image processing software ImageJ.…”