Enhancement of mitochondrial biogenesis with polyphenols: combined effects of resveratrol and equol in human endothelial cells

Abstract

Emerging evidence suggests that combinatorial action of numerous biologically active compounds may be a valuable source in a variety of therapeutic applications. Several nutraceuticals have demonstrated to augment the efficacy of pharmacological approaches or provide physiological benefit to improve age-related decline. Recently, the possibilities of anti-ageing interventions have multiplied also to ameliorate the mitochondrial alterations in ageing-associated diseases. In this report, we approached a novel treatment strategy by combining two bioactive dietary constituents (resveratrol and equol) to determine their effect on mitochondrial function. Taking into account that the biological activities of resveratrol and equol has been observed in a wide range of biological processes, they were selected to examine whether combining them would be more effective to modulate mitochondrial function. In HUVEC cells our results demonstrate that the co-administration of these natural products increased mitochondrial mass and mitochondrial DNA content. Additionally, combined use of both compounds increased SIRT1 enzymatic activity and induced mitochondrial biogenesis factors such as PGC1-α, TFAM and NRF-1. Therefore, identification of this novel synergism may provide a new perspective for future treatments aiming to modulate the mitochondrial activity with implications in maintaining endothelial function which is crucial in the regulation of immune response. Further studies to discover the molecular details of this crosstalk and to identify new combinations of active compounds affecting the mitochondrial function will be extremely beneficial to prevent mitochondrial decline.

Dysfunction of the PGC-1α-mitochondria axis confers adriamycin-induced podocyte injury

“…TFAM plays an important role in mtDNA synthesis (8). Therefore, PGC-1␣ can regulate mitochondrial biogenesis.…”

Testing of Eight Medicinal Plant Extracts in Combination with Kresoxim-Methyl for Integrated Control of Botrytis cinerea in Apples

“…This would effectively impede the complete inhibition of mitochondrial respiration, since the binding site of kresoxim-methyl is the ubihydroquinone cytochrome-c oxidoreductase [33]. In fact, more recent studies with plant extracts showed that polyphenols could stimulate and/or enhance mitochondrial function [34][35][36]. Whether polyphenols act directly or indirectly to enhance mitochondrial functions and whether this requires binding of polyphenols to a specific receptor remain to be investigated.…”

Comparative Oral Absorption of Different Citicoline and Homotaurine Formulations: A Single-Dose, Two-Period Crossover Trial in the Dog

“…In recent years, a large body of research has been addressed to identify neuroprotective drugs and food supplements able to prevent neurodegenerative pathologies and preserve visual function and these efforts revealed how the use of a combination of compounds with synergistic multitarget effects might offer a significant approach for disease prevention, including neurodegenerative pathologies and retinal neurodegeneration [1,[7][8][9].…”