Hsian-Tsao (Mesona chinensis Benth.) Extract Improves the Thermal Tolerance of Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

Global warming has prompted scientific communities to consider how to alleviate thermal stress in humans and animals. The present study assessed the supplementation of hsian-tsao extract (HTE) on thermal stress in Drosophila melanogaster and preliminarily explicated its possible physiological and molecular mechanisms. Our results indicated that the lethal time for 50% of female flies fed on HTE was significantly longer than that of male flies at the same heat stress temperature. Under thermal stress, the survival time of females was remarkably increased in the HTE addition groups compared to the non-addition group. Thermal hardening by acute exposure to 36°C for 30 min (9:00 to 9:30 a.m.) every day could significantly prolong the longevity of females. Without thermal hardening, HTE increased the antioxidant capacity of females under heat stress, accompanied by an increment of catalase (CAT) activity, and the inhibition for hydroxyl radicals (OH⋅) and superoxide anions (⋅O2–). Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and the inhibition for ⋅O2– was significantly affected by thermal hardening in the non-HTE addition groups, and significant differences were shown in CAT and SOD activities, and the inhibition for ⋅O2– among groups with thermal hardening. After heat exposure, heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) was only up-regulated in the group with high levels of added HTE compared with the group without and this was similar in the thermal hardening group. It was concluded that the heat stress-relieving ability of HTE might be partly due to the enhancement of enzymatic activities of SOD and CAT, and the inhibition for OH⋅ and ⋅O2–. However, the expression levels of Hsp70 were not well related to thermal tolerance or heat survival.

Artemisia argyi extract exerts antioxidant properties and extends the lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster

“…As expected, a species belonging to a genus that inhabits tropical regions, deserts and volcanic island chains commonly coexist with humans, and species within this genus have a wide global distribution 13 . Fruit flies ( Drosophila melanogaster Meigen) provide a powerful genetic system for investigating the potential mechanisms underlying ageing and age‐related diseases 14,15 . Therefore, this species is widely served as a model organism to probe the effects of diet on life extension.…”

“…The flies were reared under laboratory conditions comprising a 12:12 h light/ dark photocycle at 25 ± 1 °C and 60% relative humidity. 38 During this study, the basal diet according to the previously described by Huang et al 14 The basic culture medium was prepared by boiling the following mixture of ingredients: cornmeal (34 g), sucrose (26 g), agar (3 g) and yeast (3 g) in distilled water (300 mL). Propionic acid (0.8 mL) was added to the diet to prevent mould growth.…”

“…13 Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster Meigen) provide a powerful genetic system for investigating the potential mechanisms underlying ageing and age-related diseases. 14,15 Therefore, this species is widely served as a model organism to probe the effects of diet on life extension. Drosophila melanogaster shares more than 70% of homologous genes with humans at the genetic level, making them an ideal material for genetic research.…”

Influence of Heat Treatment on Tea Polyphenols and Their Impact on Improving Heat Tolerance in Drosophila melanogaster

“…Drosophila melanogaster is a model organism commonly used in various biomedical studies, and it has been noted that Drosophila and human genes share more than 60% similarity [10] (Vonesch et al, 2016). As a thermotropic animal, Drosophila has temperature sensors capable of sensing very small temperature changes [11] (Gallio et al, 2011), and female Drosophila are less sensitive to heat than males and can be observed for longer periods of time compared with males under heat-treatment tests [2,12] (Huang et al, 2022; Parkash et al, 2014). Therefore, female Drosophila melanogaster was chosen as the model in this study.…”

“…Ref. [2] (Huang Yan et al, 2020) found that aqueous extracts of green tea, white tea, oolong tea, and black tea could improve the heat tolerance of female Drosophila, but the mechanism of action was not studied in depth. TPs is a general term for polyphenol compounds in tea [3] (Zhao & Zhang, 2020), which are among the main active ingredients in tea, with physiological activities such as antioxidant, antitumor, intestinal flora-regulating, and bacteriostatic activities.…”