Research Paper|Volume 13, Issue 2|pp 1718—1728

Effects of alpha-cyclodextrin on water transport, cell hydration and longevity

Lajos Szente¹, István Puskás¹, Tibor Vellai^2,³, Horst Lohmann⁴

¹CycloLab, Cyclodextrin R&D Laboratory, Ltd, Budapest H-1097, Hungary
²Department of Genetics, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest H-1117, Hungary
³MTA-ELTE Genetics Research Group, Budapest H-1117, Hungary
⁴Ecocyte Bioscience, Dortmund D-44379, Germany

Received: September 23, 2020Accepted: December 9, 2020Published: January 19, 2021

https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.202533

Copyright: © 2021 Szente 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

Among parent cyclodextrins (CDs), alpha-CD (a-CD) has been utilized in a number of nutraceutical products, and approved as a dietary fiber to affect glycemic response and reduce dietary fat absorption. To extend our current knowledge on the biology of this natural carbohydrate, here we investigated its potential effects on cellular water uptake and aging. Two independent in vivo biological test systems were used, a single cell Xenopus oocyte with expressed human aquaporin for cell hydration studies and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans for testing life span in the treated animals. a-CD was found to enhance water uptake through aquaporins of oocytes. Furthermore, the compound promoted longevity in C. elegans. Together, these results raise a rational for assaying a-CD as a potent drug candidate in treating various age-related diseases.