Beneficial effects of Paeonia ostii stamen tea in extending the lifespan and inducing stress resistance on Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

Paeonia ostii is an industrial crop with broad prospects, and folks have habit of drinking its stamen tea in China, but its beneficial healthy effects remain largely unclear. Here, we identified its main active components, evaluated its antioxidant activity, and examined its safety property and its beneficial effects in the model animal Caenorhabditis elegans. The results showed that P. ostii stamen (POS) contained many active components with high antioxidant activity. Moreover, POS tea did not cause lethality, influence growth, locomotion behavior and reproduction, and induce intestinal autofluorescence in C. elegans. Furthermore, 1.2 mg·mL^-1 of POS tea treatment significantly extended the lifespan and improved growth, locomotion behavior and intestinal autofluorescence of C. elegans, while its reproduction and Escherichia coli OP50 growth were not affected. In addition, POS tea treatment significantly induced stress resistance to extend the lifespan of C. elegans under heat stress and oxidative stress conditions. All these suggested that POS tea was safe and had beneficial healthy effects, which could provide a theoretical basis for its production and popularization.

Keywords:
Paeonia ostii; stamen; tea; lifespan; stress resistance; Caenorhabditis elegans