Research Paper Volume 11, Issue 21 pp 9369—9387
Extension of Drosophila lifespan by Korean red ginseng through a mechanism dependent on dSir2 and insulin/IGF-1 signaling
- 1 Department of Biological Sciences, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Korea
- 2 Metabolism and Neurophysiology Research Group, KRIBB, Daejeon 34141, Korea
- 3 Department of Functional Genomics, UST, Daejeon 34141, Korea
Received: February 22, 2019 Accepted: October 21, 2019 Published: October 31, 2019
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.102387How to Cite
Copyright © 2019 Lee et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Many studies have indicated that Korean red ginseng (KRG) has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects, thereby inducing many health benefits in humans. Studies into the longevity effects of KRG are limited and have provided contradictory results, and the molecular mechanism of lifespan extension by KRG is not elucidated yet. Herein, the longevity effect of KRG was investigated in Drosophila melanogaster by feeding KRG extracts, and the molecular mechanism of lifespan extension was elucidated by using longevity-related mutant flies. KRG extended the lifespan of Drosophila when administrated at 10 and 25 μg/mL, and the longevity benefit of KRG was not due to reduced feeding, reproduction, and/or climbing ability in fruit flies, indicating that the longevity benefit of KRG is a direct effect of KRG, not of a secondary artifact. Diet supplementation with KRG increased the lifespan of flies on a full-fed diet but not of those on a restricted diet, and the longevity effect of KRG was diminished by the mutation of dSir2, a deacetylase known to mediate the benefits of dietary restriction. Similarly, the longevity effect of KRG was mediated by the reduction of insulin/IGF-1 signaling. In conclusion, KRG extends the lifespan of Drosophila through Sir2 and insulin/IGF-1 signaling and has potential as an anti-aging dietary-restriction mimetic and prolongevity supplement.