Purple pitanga fruit (Eugenia uniflora L.) protects against oxidative stress and increase the lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans via the DAF-16/FOXO pathway

Abstract

Pitanga, a fruit of the pitangueira tree (Eugenia uniflora L.), is native to Brazil and has a high antioxidant capacity due to the elevated amount of anthocyanins. The present study aimed to investigate the chemical composition of the purple pitanga fruit and to evaluate its antioxidant effect in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We observed that the ethanolic extract of purple pitanga did not cause any toxic effects but notably increased worm lifespan. The extract improved the survival, reproduction and lifespan of the worms in pre- and post-exposure to stressors HO and juglone, as well as improved the lifespan of the oxidative stress hypersensitive strain mev-1. Notably, PPE extract decreased reactive oxygen species by DCF-DA probe and protein carbonyl content from worms stressed with HO. The extract also affected the expression of superoxide dismutase SOD-3 and heat shock protein HSP-16.2 levels, daf 16 target genes that modulate lifespan and antioxidant metabolism. In addition, we demonstrate that these effects are dependent on DAF-16, as PPE extract did not provide protection in daf-16 mutants. Therefore, these results suggest that PPE significantly protected against oxidative stress modulating daf-16 target genes.

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

“…In this latter case, quite usually through the commercial OxyBlot detection kit, based on the separation of the DNP-derivatized proteins by SDS-PAGE followed by western blot immunoassay, although it only provides a semiquantitative assessment [ 80 ]. DNPH-based assays, including OxyBlot, have been applied to determine protein oxidative damage in C. elegans [ 54 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 ], although they suffer from poor homogeneity, especially when dealing with complex samples, as it is the case of the worm. An alternative CyDye™-hydrazide-based procedure to quantify protein carbonylation in C. elegans has been more recently proposed, based on normalizing carbonyl-related signal to total protein in SDS-PAGE multiplexing experiments and fluorescence scanning in a Typhoon biomolecular imager [ 87 ]; according to the authors, this approach improves the performance of classical OxyBlot.…”

Tart Cherry Increases Lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans by Altering Metabolic Signaling Pathways

“…In our current study, sod-2 gene levels were increased with TCE, with no changes in sod-3 gene expression. Another study using purple pitanga fruit showed increased sod-3 protein expression in C. elegans [19]. We chose sod-3 over sod-1 as they share some genetic similarities and have a certain level of amino acid homology, and sod-2 does not share substantial amino acid homology with either sod-1 or sod-3 [74].…”

“…In addition to these major pathways and genes, ROS is also involved in regulating longevity [16]. High ROS activity has been shown to be a major lifespan limiting factor in humans, C. elegans, and Drosophila [7,[17][18][19]. Finally, in addition to the factors discussed above, mitochondria regulate different signaling and metabolic pathways, including ROS production and therefore plays a vital role in aging progression [20].…”

Acrocomia aculeata(Jacq.) Lodd. ex Mart. Leaves Increase SIRT1 Levels and Improve Stress Resistance

“…Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity viability and survival. So, the nematode survival was improved, by the prevention of Juglone-induced oxidative damage [66]. A. aculeata fruit pulp and kernel have shown similar results, in particular the in vitro antioxidant activity and absence of cytotoxicity [67], besides hypoglycemic [68] and anti-inflammatory and diuretic effects [69].…”