Aging is an inevitable process in all lives and is often associated with a number of chronic diseases. Many food bioactives may potentially delay the progression of aging, which can be determined using Caenorhabditis elegans, a well-established in vivo aging model. First, we have determined that piceatannol, a stilbene, significantly extended the lifespan without adversely influencing growth and reproduction in wild-type C. elegans. This effect of piceatannol was dependent on DAF-16 (an ortholog of the mammalian Forkhead box O transcription factor) that is also one of the downstream targets of DAF-2 (an ortholog of the mammalian insulin/insulin-like growth factor receptor). In addition, p-coumaric acid, a hydroxycinnamic acid, only improved the lifespans of wild-type C. elegans under oxidative and osmotic stress conditions, while no effects were observed under normal or heat stress conditions. It was determined that p-coumaric acid targets skn-1 (an ortholog of the Nrf2, Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2) for oxidative resistance, while it targets osr-1 (an osmosis regulatory gene) for osmotic resistance. Another hydroxycinnamic acid, chicoric acid, improved the lifespan of C. elegans under normal condition, potentially mediated by aak-2 (an orthologs of the AMP-activated kinase). These results support the potential anti-aging effects of various food bioactives via multiple mechanisms of action.

Food bioactives that can extend lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans

256th National Meeting (2018)

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