Discovery of fifteen new geroprotective plant extracts and identification of cellular processes they affect to prolong the chronological lifespan of budding yeast

// Pamela Dakik 1 , Monica Enith Lozano Rodriguez 1 , Jennifer Anne Baratang Junio 1 , Darya Mitrofanova 1 , Younes Medkour 1 , Tala Tafakori 1 , Tarek Taifour 1 , Vicky Lutchman 1 , Eugenie Samson 1 , Anthony Arlia-Ciommo 1 , Belise Rukundo 1 , Éric Simard 2 and Vladimir I. Titorenko 1 1 Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec H4B 1R6, Canada 2 Idunn Technologies Inc., Rosemere, Quebec J7A 4A5, Canada Correspondence to: Vladimir I. Titorenko, email: [email protected] Keywords: cellular aging; longevity; gerotargets; geroprotectors; plant extracts Received: April 01, 2020     Accepted: May 14, 2020     Published: June 09, 2020 ABSTRACT In a quest for previously unknown geroprotective natural chemicals, we used a robust cell viability assay to search for commercially available plant extracts that can substantially prolong the chronological lifespan of budding yeast. Many of these plant extracts have been used in traditional Chinese and other herbal medicines or the Mediterranean and other customary diets. Our search led to a discovery of fifteen plant extracts that significantly extend the longevity of chronologically aging yeast not limited in calorie supply. We show that each of these longevity-extending plant extracts is a geroprotector that decreases the rate of yeast chronological aging and promotes a hormetic stress response. We also show that each of the fifteen geroprotective plant extracts mimics the longevity-extending, stress-protecting, metabolic and physiological effects of a caloric restriction(definition) diet but if added to yeast cultured under non-caloric restriction conditions. We provide evidence that the fifteen geroprotective plant extracts exhibit partially overlapping effects on a distinct set of longevity-defining cellular processes. These effects include a rise in coupled mitochondrial respiration, an altered age-related chronology of changes in reactive oxygen species abundance, protection of cellular macromolecules from oxidative damage, and an age-related increase in the resistance to long-term oxidative and thermal stresses.