Sugarcane extract enhances stress resilience and longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans: NMR structural elucidation and transcriptomic mechanisms.

Abstract

Sugarcane, rich in bioactive phenolics, offers significant health benefits. This study isolated a phenolic extract from sugarcane (ESM) and characterized its composition via HPLC and NMR spectroscopy. ESM and five major constituent phenolics (gallic acid, epigallocatechin, quercitrin, catechol, and rutin) exhibited potent in vitro radical scavenging activities. In Caenorhabditis elegans, ESM extended oxidative stress lifespan by up to 29.24 %, reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation by 39.94 %, and elevated antioxidant enzymes activities. Transcriptomics revealed ESM modulated longevity-related genes (e.g., hsp-70, gst-20, akt-1) and enriched pathways including longevity regulation, cytochrome P450 metabolism, lysosomal function, and glutathione metabolism. Additionally, ESM regulated the mRNA levels of daf-2 and daf-16 and their downstream genes without significant positive effect on the survival rates in daf-16 (mu86) null mutant worms. These findings demonstrated the potential of ESM as a functional food ingredient for mitigating oxidative stress and aging.