Abstract
BackgroundDuring the past years, a number of studies have demonstrated the positive effect of apple on ageing and different diseases such as cancer, degenerative and cardiovascular diseases.The unicellular yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae represents a simple eukaryotic model to study the effects of different compounds on lifespan. We previously demonstrated that apple extracts have anti-ageing effects in this organism because of their antioxidant properties.In particular, the effect is related to the presence in this fruit of polyphenols, which give a large contribution to the antioxidant activity of apples.MethodsWe we used a clonogenic assay to assess the viability and the resistance to oxidative stress of S. cerevisiae cells in the presence of Annurca apple extracts.The production of ROS and the aberrant morphology of nuclei were detected by cell staining with the fluorescent dies Dihydrorhodamine 123 and DAPI, respectively. Mitochondrial morphology was analyzed by following the localization of the mito-GFP protein into the mitochondrial matrix.ResultsIn this study, we show that apple extracts can increase yeast lifespan, reduce the levels of reactive oxygen species and cell sensitivity to oxidative stress, and prevent nuclei and mitochondria fragmentation protecting cells from regulated cell death.ConclusionsIn this paper, by using the yeast S. cerevisiae as a model, we have demonstrated that Annurca extracts possess antioxidant properties thanks to which the extracts can reduce the intracellular ROS levels and have anti-apoptotic functions thus prolonging cell lifespan.These results contribute to knowledge on the effects of natural compounds on ageing and support the use of yeast as a model organism for the development of simple tests to assess the effectiveness of bioactive substances from natural sources.
Highlights
During the past years, a number of studies have demonstrated the positive effect of apple on ageing and different diseases such as cancer, degenerative and cardiovascular diseases
We demonstrated the positive effect of Golden Delicious apple components in reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, in preventing ageing and cell death in the yeast pro-apoptotic mutant Kllsm4Δ1 [3]
We found that the apple extracts can extend yeast lifespan and reduce ROS levels protecting cells from oxidative stress
Summary
A number of studies have demonstrated the positive effect of apple on ageing and different diseases such as cancer, degenerative and cardiovascular diseases. Studies on humans concerning the deciphering of ageing mechanisms are not easy and the duration of ageing is one of the main limiting factors For these reasons, model systems, such as yeast, have become useful to study the mechanism of ageing thanks to their simple handling and because they share a large number of genes and cellular pathways with humans. Studies on the relationships between diet and ageing are growing and it was demonstrated that calorie restriction [1] and some antioxidants [2,3,4] can extend lifespan in yeast and other model organisms [5, 6]. The phytochemicals show a wide range of biological activities which may contribute to health beneficial effect against diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, pulmonary disorders, Alzheimer and other degenerative diseases [7]
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