Investigation of the effects of Turkish folk medicine on Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan

Research in the field of aging is getting important each day. The model organism Caenorhabditis elegans is a popular model for studying aging due to its short lifespan, rapid generation time and experimental flexibility. There is a high probability of developing a drug candidate molecule from plants used as a folk medicine. We therefore investigated the effects of Turkish folk medicines to aging and some age related diseases. 12 plant extracts (Helichrysum plicatum L., H. stoechas L., Urtica dioica L., Mrytus communis L., Rubus sanctus Schreber, Salvia fruticosa L., S. verticillata L., S. tomentosa Miller, Hedera helix L., Paliurus spina christi Miller, Plantago major L., Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton) with antidiabetic and antibacterial activities, which are believed to be panacea, were chosen from folk medicine inventory studies. According to the toxicity assays, aqueous extracts of H. helix (1000µg/ml), M. communis (125µg/ml) and R. sanctus (3.75µg/ml) leaves prolonged mean lifespan of C. elegans by %46.42, %11.36 and %9.52, respectively. Additionally sir-2.1 mutant strains were used to identify mechanism of action but none of three extracts showed longevity in lifespan. Further investigations should be done by using other mutants.