Abstract
The modulation of longevity genes and aging-associated signaling pathways using pharmacological agents is one of the potential ways to prolong the lifespan and increase the vitality of an organism. Phytochemicals flavonoids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have a large potential as geroprotectors. The goal of the present study was to investigate the effects of long-term and short-term consumption of quercetin, (-)-epicatechin, and ibuprofen on the lifespan, resistance to stress factors (paraquat, hyperthermia, γ-radiation, and starvation), as well as age-dependent physiological parameters (locomotor activity and fecundity) of Drosophila melanogaster. The long-term treatment with quercetin and (-)-epicatechin didn't change or decreased the lifespan of males and females. In contrast, the short-term treatment with flavonoids had a beneficial effect and stimulated the resistance to paraquat and acute γ-irradiation. The short-term ibuprofen consumption had a positive effect on the lifespan of females when it was carried out at the middle age (30–40 days), and to the survival of flies under conditions of oxidative and genotoxic stresses. However, it didn't change the lifespan of males and females after the treatment during first 10 days of an imago life. Additionally, quercetin, (-)-epicatechin, and ibuprofen decreased the spontaneous locomotor activity of males, but had no effect of stimulated the physical activity and fecundity of females. Revealed quercetin, (-)-epicatechin, and ibuprofen activity can be associated with the stimulation of stress response mechanisms through the activation of pro-longevity pathways, or the induction of hormesis.
Highlights
The modulation of longevity genes and aging-associated signaling pathways using chemicals is one of the potential ways to increase the human lifespan
It was shown that quercetin and (-)-epicatechin increase the lifespan of different model organisms including nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and mouse Mus musculus (Pietsch et al, 2009; Si et al, 2011)
It was found that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen increases the lifespan of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Drosophila melanogaster (He et al, 2014)
Summary
The modulation of longevity genes and aging-associated signaling pathways using chemicals is one of the potential ways to increase the human lifespan. Flavonoids is a class of polyphenolic natural chemicals with revealed antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, cardioprotective, and neuroprotective properties (Zern and Fernandez, 2005; Seelinger et al, 2008; Vauzour et al, 2008; Ruijters et al, 2013; Vinayagam and Xu, 2015). Their ability to demonstrate positive effects is highly dependent on applied concentrations. The nonantioxidant activity is expressed in the modulation of different molecular processes including anti-inflammatory (Nair et al, 2006; Vicentini et al, 2011), anti-cancer (Granado-Serrano et al, 2006) activities, regulation of several aging-associated molecular pathways (Granado-Serrano et al, 2006, 2010), and others
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