Guarana (Paullinia cupanaMart.) attenuates methylmercury-induced toxicity inCaenorhabditis elegans.
The influence of routine guarana (Paullinia cupana) consumption on apparent tolerance to mercury intoxication has been proposed. The present study investigated this hypothesis inCaenorhabditis elegans, a suitable experimental model for studies in toxicology. Wild type (WT) andskn-1 (ok2315)worm strains were pretreated with guarana ethanolic extract (GEE) from larvae 1 (L1) to L4 stage and then exposed for 6 hours to methylmercury (MeHg). The analyses included evaluation of GEE's effects on lethality, developmental delay, feeding, locomotion, gene expression (sod-3,gst-4,sir-2.1,hsf-1,snn-1, mtl-1,mtl-2,aat-1, aat-2andaat-3) and antioxidant activity. GEE pre-treatment had no aberrant effects on WT worms exposed to MeHg, and protectedskn-1 (ok2315)worms,which are more susceptible to environmental stresses. Protective effects of GEE might be dependent on modulation of genes other than those directly involved in antioxidant activity. GEE increased the expression of genes involved in metal transport (aat-2), metal detoxification (mtl-1andmtl-2) and antioxidant responses (sir-2.1andsod-3). Thus, routine consumption of guarana might be beneficial in protecting against MeHg-induced toxicity.
Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
Leticia Priscilla
LP
Arantes
Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States.
Tanara Vieira
TV
Peres
Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States.
Pam
P
Chen
Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States.
Samuel
S
Caito
Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States.
Michael
M
Aschner
Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
Félix Alexandre Antunes
FA
Soares
mercury; natural products; neurological disorders; xanthines