title: Biology of ageing and role of dietary antioxidants.
abstract: Interest in relationship between diet and ageing is growing. Research has shown that dietary calorie restriction and some antioxidants extend lifespan in various ageing models. On the one hand, oxygen is essential to aerobic organisms because it is a final electron acceptor in mitochondria. On the other hand, oxygen is harmful because it can continuously generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are believed to be the factors causing ageing of an organism. To remove these ROS in cells, aerobic organisms possess an antioxidant defense system which consists of a series of enzymes, namely, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GR). In addition, dietary antioxidants including ascorbic acid, vitamin A, vitamin C, α-tocopherol, and plant flavonoids are also able to scavenge ROS in cells and therefore theoretically can extend the lifespan of organisms. In this connection, various antioxidants including tea catechins, theaflavins, apple polyphenols, black rice anthocyanins, and blueberry polyphenols have been shown to be capable of extending the lifespan of fruit flies. The purpose of this review is to brief the literature on modern biological theories of ageing and role of dietary antioxidants in ageing as well as underlying mechanisms by which antioxidants can prolong the lifespan with focus on fruit flies as an model.
authors.affiliation: Food & Nutritional Sciences Programme, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Food & Nutritional Sciences Programme, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Xiaobo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Lipids Technology and Engineering, College of Food Science and Technology, Henan University of Technology, Henan, China.
authors.forename: Jingnan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.affiliation: Food & Nutritional Sciences Programme, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Lijun
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5326-7177
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Food & Nutritional Sciences Programme, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Yuk Man
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Food & Nutritional Sciences Programme, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.affiliation: Food & Nutritional Sciences Programme, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Yuwei
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4541-3824
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Food & Nutritional Sciences Programme, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Food & Nutritional Sciences Programme, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Ka Ying
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Food & Nutritional Sciences Programme, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Zhen-Yu
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5615-1682
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D004032:Diet; D002149:Energy Intake; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D059808:Polyphenols / Q000378:metabolism; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D059808:Polyphenols; D002374:Catalase; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol