title: AyurvedicAmalaki Rasayanapromotes improved stress tolerance and thus has anti-aging effects inDrosophila melanogaster.
abstract: Amalaki Rasayana (AR) is a common Ayurvedic herbal formulation of Phyllanthus emblica fruits and some other ingredients, and is used for general good health and healthy aging. We reported it to improve life history traits and to suppress neurodegeneration as well as induced apoptosis in Drosophila. The present study examines responses of Drosophila reared on AR-supplemented food to crowding, thermal or oxidative stresses. Wild-type larvae/flies reared on AR-supplemented food survived the various cell stresses much better than those reared on control food. AR-fed mutant park13 or DJ-1 beta Delta93 (Parkinson's disease model) larvae/flies, however, showed only partial or no protection, respectively, against paraquat-induced oxidative stress, indicating essentiality of DJ-1 beta for AR-mediated oxidative stress tolerance. AR feeding reduced the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation even in aged (35-day-old) wild-type flies while enhancing superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. We show that while Hsp70 or Hsp83 expression under normal or stress conditions was not affected by AR feeding, Hsp27 levels were elevated in AR-fed wild-type control as well as heat-shocked larvae. Therefore, besides the known anti-oxidant activity of Phyllanthus emblica fruits, dietary AR also enhances cellular levels of Hsp27. Our in vivo study on a model organism shows that AR feeding significantly improves tolerance to a variety of cell stresses through reduced ROS and lipid peroxidation on the one hand, and enhanced SOD activity and Hsp27 on the other. The resulting better homeostasis improves life span and quality of organism's life.
authors.affiliation: Cytogenetics Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India.
authors.forename: Vibha
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dwivedi
authors.forename: Subhash C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lakhotia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects; D055551:HSP27 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D008515:Medicine, Ayurvedic; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: C574902:Amalakirasayana; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D055551:HSP27 Heat-Shock Proteins; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; C089272:Hsp83 protein, Drosophila; D010936:Plant Extracts; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase