Effect of Ethanol Extracts of Penis Cervi on Anti-aging in Caenorhabditis elegans

Objective: The differences in the anti-aging activities of alcohol extract of penis cervi of Cervus nippon(HC) and Cervus elaphus (MC) and their mechanisms of action were investigated using the Caenorhabditis elegans aging model. The purpose of the study, however, provide a reference for the development of penis cervi herbal medicine as a pharmaceutical and health care product. Methods: Extracts of penis cervi (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 mg/mL) were used to determine the lifespan, pharyngeal capacity, motility, reproductive capacity, and stress resistance of ethanol extracts of HC and MC on C.elegans, and the effects of penis cervi on antioxidant enzyme activity and malondialdehyde(MDA) levels in vivo were also included. In addition, the anti-aging effect of penis cerviethanol extracts was investigated. Results: Compared with the blank group, the two kinds of penis cervion significantly increased the life span of nematodes at 0.5 and 1.0 mg/mL (P<0.05), and significantly increased the life span of nematodes at 2.0 mg/mL (P<0.01), but did not affect the reproductive ability, significantly improved the swallowing and movement ability of nematodes; it had significant defense effect on heat stress and oxidative stress, and reduced ROS level; The results demonstrated that at the level of 2.0 mg/mL, the results of all parameters of HC were significantly stronger than those of MC. The mean lifespan of C.elegans in HC group was 19.98 ± 1.26 d, which was significantly higher than that of 17.26 ± 1.34 d in MC group. The mean survival time of C.elegans in the HC group increased by 44.78% and 41.04% for heat and oxidative stress, respectively, which was significantly higher than that of 25.71% and 31.45% in the MC group. Exercise test results indicated that at 8 d, HC group exercise A status C.elegans elevated 29%, which was 8.3% higher than MC. HC reduced ROS levels in C.elegans to a greater extent than in the MC group. The effects of HC and MC on the reproductive and pharyngeal abilities of C.elegans were not significantly different. Conclusion: Compared with the blank group, The results showed that the two ethanol extracts of penis cervi could inhibit the accumulation of ROS in C.elegans, enhance the resistance to high temperature and acute oxidative stress of paraquat, increase the activity of antioxidant enzymes, and consequently prolong the lifespan of C.elegans and have anti-aging effect, as well as the activity of HC was greater than that of MC.