Lindera obtusiloba Extends Lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans

Lindera obtusiloba has been widely used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of lots of diseases, including abdominal pain, bruise, and hepatocirrhosis. Here in this study, we elucidated the lifespan-extending effect of methanolic extract of Lindera obtusiloba (MLO) using Caenorhabditis elegans model system. We found that MLO has potent lifespan extension activities under normal culture condition. Then, we determined the protective effects of MLO on the stress conditions such as osmotic, thermal and oxidative stress. To reveal possible mechanism of MLO-mediated lifespan, we further investigated the effect of MLO on the antioxidant enzyme activities and intracellular ROS levels. Our results demonstrated that superoxide dismutase and catalase activities were significantly up-regulated by MLO treatment, resulted in reduced intracellular ROS levels. In this work, we also tested whether MLO-mediated longevity activity was associated with aging-related factors such as food intake and growth. Our data revealed that both of pharyngeal pumping rate and body length were significantly shifted by MLO treatment, indicating these factors were involved in MLO's lifespan-extension effects. Although MLO induces reduction in food intake, the body movement of MLO-fed aged worms was not decreased, compared to untreated control worms, indicating MLO might extend lifespan without affecting healthspan.