Abstract
BackgroundJianpi-yangwei (JPYW), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), helps to nourish the stomach and spleen and is primarily used to treat functional declines related to aging. This study aimed to explore the antiaging effects and mechanism of JPYW by employing a Caenorhabditis elegans model.MethodsWild-type C. elegans N2 worms were cultured in growth medium with or without JPYW, and lifespan analysis, oxidative and heat stress resistance assays, and other aging-related assays were performed. The effects of JPYW on the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the expression of specific genes were examined to explore the underlying mechanism of JPYW.ResultsCompared to control worms, JPYW-treated wild-type worms showed increased survival times under both normal and stress conditions (P < 0.05). JPYW-treated worms also exhibited enhanced reproduction, movement and growth and decreased intestinal lipofuscin accumulation compared to controls (P < 0.05). Furthermore, increased activity of SOD, downregulated expression levels of the proaging gene clk-2 and upregulated expression levels of the antiaging genes daf-16, skn-1, and sir-2.1 were observed in the JPYW group compared to the control group.ConclusionOur findings suggest that JPYW extends the lifespan of C. elegans and exerts antiaging effects by increasing the activity of an antioxidant enzyme (SOD) and by regulating the expression of aging-related genes. This study not only indicates that this Chinese compound exerts antiaging effects by activating and repressing target genes but also provides a proven methodology for studying the biological mechanisms of TCMs.
Highlights
Jianpi-yangwei (JPYW), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), helps to nourish the stomach and spleen and is primarily used to treat functional declines related to aging
We found that JPYW exhibited a spleenfortifying and stomach-nourishing effect that helped to replenish energy and recover functions that were declining as a result of aging
After 7 days of treatment, there was a significant difference between the JPYW group and the control group for every day; in addition, compared to control worms, JPYW-treated worms displayed significant increases in lifespan (11.86 ± 4.24 vs. 14.49 ± 4.78 days, P < 0.05) (Fig. 1b)
Summary
Jianpi-yangwei (JPYW), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), helps to nourish the stomach and spleen and is primarily used to treat functional declines related to aging. In contrast to mainstream modern medicine, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) aims to interfere with the aging process as early as possible, preventing and delaying the occurrence and development of aging-related diseases, and has begun to draw increasing research interest [10,11,12]. According to TCM theory, Jianpi-yangwei (JPYW) therapy is one of the main treatment modalities for aging and has been clinically demonstrated to be effective [16,17,18,19,20]; further research on the nature of JPYW is necessary due to the complexity of its composition.
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