Aging is characterized by progressive decline in physiological and body function due to increase in oxidative damage. Gelam honey has been accounted to have high phenolic and nonphenolic content to attenuate oxidative damage. This study was to determine the effect of local gelam honey on oxidative damage of aged rats. Twenty-four male Spraque-Dawley rats were divided into young (2 months) and aged (19 months) groups. Each group was further divided into control (fed with plain water) and supplemented with 2.5 mg/kg body weight of gelam honey for 8 months. DNA damage level was determined by comet assay and plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The activity of blood and cardiac antioxidant enzymes was determined by spectrophotometer. The DNA damage and MDA level were reduced in both gelam honey supplemented groups. Gelam honey increases erythrocytes CAT and cardiac SOD activities in young and cardiac CAT activity in young and aged groups. The DNA damage was increased in the aged group compared to young group, but reduced at the end of the study. The decline of oxidative damage in rats supplemented with gelam honey might be through the modulation of antioxidant enzyme activities.
In diabetes mellitus, cardiac fibrosis is characterized by increase in the deposition of collagen fibers. The present study aimed to observe the effect of Momordica charantia (MC) fruit extract on hyperglycaemia-induced cardiac fibrosis. Diabetes was induced in the male Sprague-Dawley rats with a single intravenous injection of streptozotocin (STZ). Following 4 weeks of STZ induction, the rats were subdivided (n = 6) into control group (Ctrl), control group treated with MC (Ctrl-MC), diabetic untreated group (DM-Ctrl), diabetic group treated with MC (DM-MC), and diabetic group treated with 150 mg/kg of metformin (DM-Met). Administration of MC fruit extract (1.5 g/kg body weight) in diabetic rats for 28 days showed significant increase in the body weight and decrease in the fasting blood glucose level. Significant increase in cardiac tissues superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione contents (GSH), and catalase (CAT) was observed following MC treatment. Hydroxyproline content was significantly reduced and associated morphological damages reverted to normal. The decreased expression of type III and type IV collagens was observed under immunohistochemical staining. It is concluded that MC fruit extract possesses antihyperglycemic, antioxidative, and cardioprotective properties which may be beneficial in the treatment of diabetic cardiac fibrosis.
Oxidative stress has been suggested to play a role in hypertension and hypertension induced organ damage. This study examined the effect of enalapril, an antihypertensive drug, on oxidative stress markers and antioxidant enzymes in kidney of spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) and Nω -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) administered SHR. Male rats were divided into four groups (SHR, SHR+enalapril, SHR+L-NAME, and SHR+enalapril+L-NAME). Enalapril (30 mg kg(-1) day(-1)) was administered from week 4 to week 28 and L-NAME (25 mg kg(-1) day(-1)) was administered from week 16 to week 28 in drinking water. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured during the experimental period. At the end of experimental periods, rats were sacrificed; urine, blood, and kidneys were collected for the assessment of creatinine clearance, total protein, total antioxidant status (TAS), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT), as well as histopathological examination. Enalapril treatment significantly enhanced the renal TAS level (P < 0.001) and SOD activity (P < 0.001), reduced the TBARS levels (P < 0.001), and also prevented the renal dysfunction and histopathological changes. The results indicate that, besides its hypotensive and renoprotective effects, enalapril treatment also diminishes oxidative stress in the kidneys of both the SHR and SHR+L-NAME groups.
Emerging evidences highlight the implication of microRNAs as a posttranscriptional regulator in aging. Several senescence-associated microRNAs (SA-miRNAs) are found to be differentially expressed during cellular senescence. However, the role of dietary compounds on SA-miRNAs remains elusive. This study aimed to elucidate the modulatory role of tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) on SA-miRNAs (miR-20a, miR-24, miR-34a, miR-106a, and miR-449a) and established target genes of miR-34a (CCND1, CDK4, and SIRT1) during replicative senescence of human diploid fibroblasts (HDFs). Primary cultures of HDFs at young and senescent were incubated with TRF at 0.5 mg/mL. Taqman microRNA assay showed significant upregulation of miR-24 and miR-34a and downregulation of miR-20a and miR-449a in senescent HDFs (P < 0.05). TRF reduced miR-34a expression in senescent HDFs and increased miR-20a expression in young HDFs and increased miR-449a expression in both young and senescent HDFs. Our results also demonstrated that ectopic expression of miR-34a reduced the expression of CDK4 significantly (P < 0.05). TRF inhibited miR-34a expression thus relieved its inhibition on CDK4 gene expression. No significant change was observed on the expression of CCND1, SIRT1, and miR-34a upstream transcriptional regulator, TP53. In conclusion tocotrienol-rich fraction prevented cellular senescence of human diploid fibroblasts via modulation of SA-miRNAs and target genes expression.
Sarcopenia is a geriatric syndrome that is characterized by gradual loss of muscle mass and strength with increasing age. Although the underlying mechanism is still unknown, the contribution of increased oxidative stress in advanced age has been recognized as one of the risk factors of sarcopenia. Thus, eliminating reactive oxygen species (ROS) can be a strategy to combat sarcopenia. In this review, we discuss the potential role of vitamin E in the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia. Vitamin E is a lipid soluble vitamin, with potent antioxidant properties and current evidence suggesting a role in the modulation of signaling pathways. Previous studies have shown its possible beneficial effects on aging and age-related diseases. Although there are evidences suggesting an association between vitamin E and muscle health, they are still inconclusive compared to other more extensively studied chronic diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases and cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, we reviewed the role of vitamin E and its potential protective mechanisms on muscle health based on previous and current in vitro and in vivo studies.
Mechanisms determining both functional rate of decline and the time of onset in aging remain elusive. Studies of the aging process especially those involving the comparison of long-lived individuals and young controls are fairly limited. Therefore, this research aims to determine the differential gene expression profile in related individuals from villages in Pahang, Malaysia. Genome-wide microarray analysis of 18 samples of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from two groups: octo/nonagenarians (80-99 years old) and their offspring (50.2 ± 4.0 years old) revealed that 477 transcripts were age-induced and 335 transcripts were age-repressed with fold changes ≥1.2 in octo/nonagenarians compared to offspring. Interestingly, changes in gene expression were associated with increased capacity for apoptosis (BAK1), cell cycle regulation (CDKN1B), metabolic process (LRPAP1), insulin action (IGF2R), and increased immune and inflammatory response (IL27RA), whereas response to stress (HSPA8), damage stimulus (XRCC6), and chromatin remodelling (TINF2) pathways were downregulated in octo/nonagenarians. These results suggested that systemic telomere maintenance, metabolism, cell signalling, and redox regulation may be important for individuals to maintain their healthy state with advancing age and that these processes play an important role in the determination of the healthy life-span.
Accumulation of oxidized nucleic acids causes genomic instability leading to senescence, apoptosis, and tumorigenesis. Phytoagents are known to reduce the risk of cancer development; whether such effects are through regulating the extent of nucleic acid oxidation remains unclear. Here, we outlined the role of reactive oxygen species in nucleic acid oxidation as a driving force in cancer progression. The consequential relationship between genome instability and cancer progression highlights the importance of modulation of cellular redox level in cancer management. Current epidemiological and experimental evidence demonstrate the effects and modes of action of phytoagents in nucleic acid oxidation and provide rationales for the use of phytoagents as chemopreventive or therapeutic agents. Vitamins and various phytoagents antagonize carcinogen-triggered oxidative stress by scavenging free radicals and/or activating endogenous defence systems such as Nrf2-regulated antioxidant genes or pathways. Moreover, metal ion chelation by phytoagents helps to attenuate oxidative DNA damage caused by transition metal ions. Besides, the prooxidant effects of some phytoagents pose selective cytotoxicity on cancer cells and shed light on a new strategy of cancer therapy. The "double-edged sword" role of phytoagents as redox regulators in nucleic acid oxidation and their possible roles in cancer prevention or therapy are discussed in this review.
Cancer cells generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) resulting from mitochondrial dysfunction, stimulation of oncogenes, abnormal metabolism, and aggravated inflammatory activities. Available evidence also suggests that cancer cells depend on intrinsic ROS level for proliferation and survival. Both physiological and pathophysiological roles have been ascribed to ROS which cause lipid peroxidation. In spite of their injurious effects, the ROS and the resulting lipid peroxidation products could be beneficial in cancer treatment. This review presents research findings suggesting that ROS and the resulting lipid peroxidation products could be utilized to inhibit cancer growth or induce cancer cell death. It also underscores the potential of lipid peroxidation products to potentiate the antitumor effect of other anticancer agents. The review also highlights evidence demonstrating other potential applications of lipid peroxidation products in cancer treatment. These include the prospect of lipid peroxidation products as a diagnostic tool to predict the chances of cancer recurrence, to monitor treatment progress or how well cancer patients respond to therapy. Further and detailed research is required on how best to successfully, effectively, and selectively target cancer cells in humans using lipid peroxidation products. This may prove to be an important strategy to complement current treatment regimens for cancer patients.
Biodynes, tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF), and tocopherol have shown antiaging properties. However, the combined effects of these compounds on skin aging are yet to be investigated. This study aimed to elucidate the skin aging effects of biodynes, TRF, and tocopherol on stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS) model of human diploid fibroblasts (HDFs) by determining the expression of collagen and MMPs at gene and protein levels. Primary HDFs were treated with biodynes, TRF, and tocopherol prior to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) exposure. The expression of COL1A1, COL3A1, MMP1, MMP2, MMP3, and MMP9 genes was determined by qRT-PCR. Type I and type III procollagen proteins were measured by Western blotting while the activities of MMPs were quantified by fluorometric Sensolyte MMP Kit. Our results showed that biodynes, TRF, and tocopherol upregulated collagen genes and downregulated MMP genes (P < 0.05). Type I procollagen and type III procollagen protein levels were significantly increased in response to biodynes, TRF, and tocopherol treatment (P < 0.05) with reduction in MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-3, and MMP-9 activities (P < 0.05). These findings indicated that biodynes, TRF, and tocopherol effectively enhanced collagen synthesis and inhibited collagen degradation and therefore may protect the skin from aging.
Skeletal muscle satellite cells are heavily involved in the regeneration of skeletal muscle in response to the aging-related deterioration of the skeletal muscle mass, strength, and regenerative capacity, termed as sarcopenia. This study focused on the effect of tocotrienol rich fraction (TRF) on regenerative capacity of myoblasts in stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS). The myoblasts was grouped as young control, SIPS-induced, TRF control, TRF pretreatment, and TRF posttreatment. Optimum dose of TRF, morphological observation, activity of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-galactosidase), and cell proliferation were determined. 50 μg/mL TRF treatment exhibited the highest cell proliferation capacity. SIPS-induced myoblasts exhibit large flattened cells and prominent intermediate filaments (senescent-like morphology). The activity of SA-β-galactosidase was significantly increased, but the proliferation capacity was significantly reduced as compared to young control. The activity of SA-β-galactosidase was significantly reduced and cell proliferation was significantly increased in the posttreatment group whereas there was no significant difference in SA-β-galactosidase activity and proliferation capacity of pretreatment group as compared to SIPS-induced myoblasts. Based on the data, we hypothesized that TRF may reverse the myoblasts aging through replenishing the regenerative capacity of the cells. However, further investigation on the mechanism of TRF in reversing the myoblast aging is needed.
Hypertension is a risk factor for several cardiovascular diseases and oxidative stress suggested to be involved in the pathophysiology. Antihypertensive drug Clonidine action in ameliorating oxidative stress was not well studied. Therefore, this study investigate the effect of Clonidine on oxidative stress markers and nitric oxide (NO) in SHR and nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) administered SHR. Male rats were divided into four groups [SHR, SHR+Clonidine (SHR-C), SHR+L-NAME, SHR+Clonidine+L-NAME(SHRC+L-NAME)]. Rats (SHRC) were administered with Clonidine (0.5 mg kg(-1) day(-1)) from 4 weeks to 28 weeks in drinking water and L-NAME (25 mg kg(-1) day(-1)) from 16 weeks to 28 weeks to SHRC+L-NAME. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured. At the end of 28 weeks, all rats were sacrificed and in their heart homogenate, oxidative stress parameters and NO was assessed. Clonidine treatment significantly enhanced the total antioxidant status (TAS) (P < 0.001) and reduced the thibarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) (P < 0.001) and protein carbonyl content (PCO) (P < 0.05). These data suggest that oxidative stress is involved in the hypertensive organ damage and Clonidine not only lowers the SBP but also ameliorated the oxidative stress in the heart of SHR and SHR+L-NAME.
The effect of γ -tocotrienol, a vitamin E isomer, in modulating gene expression in cellular aging of human diploid fibroblasts was studied. Senescent cells at passage 30 were incubated with 70 μ M of γ -tocotrienol for 24 h. Gene expression patterns were evaluated using Sentrix HumanRef-8 Expression BeadChip from Illumina, analysed using GeneSpring GX10 software, and validated using quantitative RT-PCR. A total of 100 genes were differentially expressed (P < 0.001) by at least 1.5 fold in response to γ -tocotrienol treatment. Amongst the genes were IRAK3, SelS, HSPA5, HERPUD1, DNAJB9, SEPR1, C18orf55, ARF4, RINT1, NXT1, CADPS2, COG6, and GLRX5. Significant gene list was further analysed by Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), and the Normalized Enrichment Score (NES) showed that biological processes such as inflammation, protein transport, apoptosis, and cell redox homeostasis were modulated in senescent fibroblasts treated with γ -tocotrienol. These findings revealed that γ -tocotrienol may prevent cellular aging of human diploid fibroblasts by modulating gene expression.
Oxidative stress is implicated in the pathogenesis and/or maintenance of elevated blood pressure in hypertension. This study investigated the effect of honey on elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). It also evaluated the effect of honey on the amelioration of oxidative stress in the kidney of SHR as a possible mechanism of its antihypertensive effect. SHR and Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats were randomly divided into 2 groups and administered distilled water or honey by oral gavage once daily for 12 weeks. The control SHR had significantly higher SBP and renal malondialdehyde (MDA) levels than did control WKY. The mRNA expression levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were significantly downregulated while total antioxidant status (TAS) and activities of GST and catalase (CAT) were higher in the kidney of control SHR. Honey supplementation significantly reduced SBP and MDA levels in SHR. Honey significantly reduced the activities of GST and CAT while it moderately but insignificantly upregulated the Nrf2 mRNA expression level in the kidney of SHR. These results indicate that Nrf2 expression is impaired in the kidney of SHR. Honey supplementation considerably reduces elevated SBP via amelioration of oxidative stress in the kidney of SHR.
In this study, we determined the molecular mechanism of γ-tocotrienol (GTT) in preventing cellular aging by focusing on its anti-apoptotic effect in stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS) model of human diploid fibroblasts (HDFs). Results obtained showed that SIPS exhibited senescent-phenotypic characteristic, increased expression of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA β-gal) and promoted G(0)/G(1) cell cycle arrest accompanied by shortening of telomere length with decreased telomerase activity. Both SIPS and senescent HDFs shared similar apoptotic changes such as increased Annexin V-FITC positive cells, increased cytochrome c release and increased activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 (P < 0.05). GTT treatment resulted in a significant reduction of Annexin V-FITC positive cells, inhibited cytochrome c release and decreased activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 (P < 0.05). Gene expression analysis showed that GTT treatment down regulated BAX mRNA, up-regulated BCL2A1 mRNA and decreased the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 protein expression (P < 0.05) in SIPS. These findings suggested that GTT inhibits apoptosis by modulating the upstream apoptosis cascade, causing the inhibition of cytochrome c release from the mitochondria with concomitant suppression of caspase-9 and caspase-3 activation. In conclusion, GTT delays cellular senescence of human diploid fibroblasts through the inhibition of intrinsic mitochondria-mediated pathway which involved the regulation of pro- and anti-apoptotic genes and proteins.
The aim of this paper was to compare the effects of pulp and kernel oils of Canarium odontophyllum Miq. (CO) on lipid profile, lipid peroxidation, and oxidative stress of healthy rabbits. The oils are rich in SFAs and MUFAs (mainly palmitic and oleic acids). The pulp oil is rich in polyphenols. Male New Zealand white (NZW) rabbits were fed for 4 weeks on a normal diet containing pulp (NP) or kernel oil (NK) of CO while corn oil was used as control (NC). Total cholesterol (TC), HDL-C, LDL-c and triglycerides (TG) levels were measured in this paper. Antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidise), thiobarbiturate reactive substances (TBARSs), and plasma total antioxidant status (TAS) were also evaluated. Supplementation of CO pulp oil resulted in favorable changes in blood lipid and lipid peroxidation (increased HDL-C, reduced LDL-C, TG, TBARS levels) with enhancement of SOD, GPx, and plasma TAS levels. Meanwhile, supplementation of kernel oil caused lowering of plasma TC and LDL-C as well as enhancement of SOD and TAS levels. These changes showed that oils of CO could be beneficial in improving lipid profile and antioxidant status as when using part of normal diet. The oils can be used as alternative to present vegetable oil.
The effects of palm gamma-tocotrienol (GGT) on oxidative stress-induced cellular ageing was investigated in normal human skin fibroblast cell lines derived from different age groups; young (21-year-old, YF), middle (40-year-old, MF) and old (68-year-old, OF). Fibroblast cells were treated with gamma-tocotrienol for 24 hours before or after incubation with IC50 dose of H2O2 for 2 hours. Changes in cell viability, telomere length and telomerase activity were assessed using the MTS assay (Promega, USA), Southern blot analysis and telomere repeat amplification protocol respectively. Results showed that treatment with different concentrations of gamma-tocotrienol increased fibroblasts viability with optimum dose of 80 microM for YF and 40 microM for both MF and OF. At higher concentrations, gamma-tocotrienol treatment caused marked decrease in cell viability with IC50 value of 200 microM (YF), 300 microM (MF) and 100 microM (OF). Exposure to H2O2 decreased cell viability in dose dependent manner, shortened telomere length and reduced telomerase activity in all age groups. The IC50 of H2O2 was found to be; YF (700 microM), MF (400 microM) and OF (100 microM). Results showed that viability increased significantly (p < 0.05) when cells were treated with 80 microM and 40 microM gamma-tocotrienol prior or after H2O2-induced oxidative stress in all age groups. In YF and OF, pretreatment with gamma-tocotrienol prevented shortening of telomere length and reduction in telomerase activity. In MF, telomerase activity increased while no changes in telomere length was observed. However, post-treatment of gamma-tocotrienol did not exert any significant effects on telomere length and telomerase activity. Thus, these data suggest that gamma-tocotrienol protects against oxidative stress-induced cellular ageing by modulating the telomere length possibly via telomerase.
Parkinson's disease is a chronic, debilitating neurodegenerative movement disorder characterized by progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta region in human midbrain. To date, oxidative stress is the well accepted concept in the etiology and progression of Parkinson's disease. Hence, the therapeutic agent is targeted against suppressing and alleviating the oxidative stress-induced cellular damage. Within the past decades, an explosion of research discoveries has reported on the protective mechanisms of flavonoids, which are plant-based polyphenols, in the treatment of neurodegenerative disease using both in vitro and in vivo models. In this paper, we have reviewed the literature on the neuroprotective mechanisms of flavonoids in protecting the dopaminergic neurons hence reducing the symptoms of this movement disorder. The mechanism reviewed includes effect of flavonoids in activation of endogenous antioxidant enzymes, suppressing the lipid peroxidation, inhibition of inflammatory mediators, flavonoids as a mitochondrial target therapy, and modulation of gene expression in neuronal cells.
Ageing and stress exposure may lead to memory impairment while oxidative stress is thought to be one of the underlying mechanisms involved. This study aimed to investigate the potential protective effects of Tualang honey supplementation on memory performance in aged rats exposed to noise stress. Tualang honey supplementation was given orally, 200 mg/kg body weight for 28 days. Rats in the stress group were subjected to loud noise, 100 dB(A), 4 hours daily for 14 days. All rats were subjected to novel object recognition test for evaluation of memory performance. It was observed that the rats subjected to noise stress exhibited significantly lower memory performance and higher oxidative stress as evident by elevated malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl levels and reduction of antioxidant enzymes activities compared to the nonstressed rats. Tualang honey supplementation was able to improve memory performance, decrease oxidative stress levels, increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentration, decrease acetylcholinesterase activity, and enhance neuronal proliferation in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampus. In conclusion, Tualang honey protects against memory decline due to stress exposure and/or ageing via enhancement of mPFC and hippocampal morphology possibly secondary to reduction in brain oxidative stress and/or upregulation of BDNF concentration and cholinergic system.
Clinacanthus nutans is used as traditional medicine in Asia but there are limited scientific studies to support its use. In this study, the stem and leaf of C. nutans were extracted using solvents of differing polarities, and their antioxidant capacities were determined using multiple antioxidant assays. The water and aqueous methanolic leaf extracts were further fractionated and their antioxidant capacities and phenolic compositions were tested. Furthermore, the efficacies of the water and aqueous methanolic leaf extracts were tested against hyperlipidemia-induced oxidative stress in rats. Serum and hepatic antioxidant and oxidative stress markers were tested after feeding the rats with high fat diet together with the extracts or simvastatin for 7 weeks. The results indicated that both leaf extracts attenuated oxidative stress through increasing serum antioxidant enzymes activity and upregulating the expression of hepatic antioxidant genes. Multiple phenolic compounds were detected in the extracts and fractions of C. nutans, although protocatechuic acid was one of the most abundant and may have contributed significantly towards the bioactivities of the extracts. However, synergistic effects of different phenolics may have contributed to the overall bioactivities. C. nutans can be a good source of functional ingredients for the management of oxidative stress-related diseases.