Another rejuvenating berries
Researchers at Emory University, working under the guidance of Dr. Alicia Vrailas-Mortimer, have found that a commercially available product made from the berries of the Brazilian acai palm (Euterpe oleracea) (dietary supplements from the berries of this Brazilian palm have been sold for a long time, and Brazilian Indians have considered acai berries a tonic since time immemorial), it is able to significantly increase the life expectancy of fruit flies, artificially reduced by the effects of oxidative stress. Moreover, under certain conditions, the addition of acai berries can extend the life of flies three times – from 8 to 24 days.
Scientists did not set out to study acai berries, but the effects of the supplement made from them surpassed the effects of all other tested antioxidants, including vitamins, coenzyme Q10 and lutein.
In one of the series of experiments, the authors worked with a line of flies P38 having a mutation in the gene of MAP kinase 38 (mitogen-activated kinase 38). When kept on a diet presented exclusively with sweet water, these flies live only 8 days. The addition of acai extract to sugar water increased the lifespan of flies by three times. Ginger extract was added to the sugar water that the flies of the control group ate.
Acai extract also protected normal fruit flies from oxidative stress in the form of exposure to hydrogen peroxide or the herbicide paraquat. However, this protective effect was manifested only if the exposure to peroxide occurred before the use of acai, and not vice versa.
Paraquat has a neurotoxic effect, the consequences of which resemble the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Under the influence of this herbicide, the circadian rhythms of fruit flies are disrupted. These manifestations were also smoothed out under the action of acai.
When keeping normal flies on a standard feed, which is a mixture of corn flour and molasses, the addition of acai berries had a more pronounced effect on males than on females. The life expectancy of males doubled – from 20 to 40 days, and females – from 30 to 34 days.
Acai berries contain a huge amount of antioxidants and compounds with anti-inflammatory properties, including anthocyanins. Researchers believe that the secret of the effect of berries lies precisely in the combined action of these biologically active substances. That is why clinical studies, in which, as a rule, individual compounds are tested, presumably having a beneficial effect on the human body, often lead to disappointing results.
Article by Vrailas-Mortimer et al. A survey of the protective effects of some commercially available antioxidant supplements in genetically and chemically induced models of oxidative stress in Drosophila melanogaster is published in the journal Experimental Gerontology.
It should be noted that the study was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and Emory University, and the editorial board of Experimental Gerontology awarded the authors a prize "For an Outstanding Article".
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of ScienceDaily:
Acai Counteracts Oxidative Stress, Lengthens Lifespan in Fruit Flies.
24.08.2012