ABSTRACT
Oxidative stress, which occurs from an imbalance of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) and both endogenous and exogenous antioxidants, promotes aging and underlies sex-specific differences in longevity and susceptibility to age-related neurodegeneration. Recent evidence suggests that curcumin, a yellow pigment derived from turmeric and shown to exhibit antioxidant properties as a RONS scavenger, influences the regulation of genetic elements in endogenous antioxidant pathways. To investigate the role of curcumin in sex-specific in vivo responses to oxidative stress, Drosophila were reared on media supplemented with 0.25, 2.5 or 25 mmol l−1 curcuminoids (consisting of curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin) and resistance to oxidative stress and neural parameters were assessed. High levels of curcuminoids exhibited two sex-specific effects: protection from hydrogen peroxide as an oxidative stressor and alterations in turning rate in an open field. Taken together, these results suggest that the influence of curcuminoids as antioxidants probably relies on changes in gene expression and that sexual dimorphism exists in the in vivo response to curcuminoids.
Footnotes
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing or financial interests.
Author contributions
Conceptualization: A.R.E., J.C.D., P.V., M.J.K., B.E.P.; Methodology: A.R.E., J.C.D., R.M.L., T.E.R., T.H.L.C., S.A.E., P.V., M.J.K., B.E.P.; Formal analysis: W.A.P., B.E.P.; Investigation: A.R.E., J.C.D., R.M.L., T.E.R., K.R.R., T.H.L.C., S.A.E., P.V., M.J.K., B.E.P.; Resources: M.J.K., B.E.P.; Data curation: W.A.P.; Writing - original draft: A.R.E., P.V., M.J.K., B.E.P.; Writing - review & editing: J.C.D., P.V., B.E.P.; Visualization: W.A.P., P.V., B.E.P.; Supervision: P.V., M.J.K., B.E.P.; Project administration: B.E.P.; Funding acquisition: B.E.P.
Funding
This work was supported by start-up funds from Southern Oregon University (SOU) to B.E.P., M.J.K. and P.V. and a Carpenter I grant from SOU to B.E.P. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Supplementary information
Supplementary information available online at https://jeb.biologists.org/lookup/doi/10.1242/jeb.223867.supplemental
- Received February 21, 2020.
- Accepted September 30, 2020.
- © 2020. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd
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