Resveratrol modifies tephritid fruit fly response to radiation but not nutritional stress

Resveratrol (3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene) is a polyphenol compound found in many plants and fruits that has antioxidant and radioprotective properties. Two model invertebrates, Bactrocera dorsalis (oriental fruit fly) and B. cucurbitae (melon fly) (Diptera: Tephritidae), were studied to determine if the addition of resveratrol to an artificial diet could modify their response to radiation and nutritional stress.

Resveratrol at concentrations of 0, 50, 100, or 200 μM of was incorporated into a liquid larval fruit fly diet. Third instars were treated with: (i) A radiation dose of 30 Gy (radiation stress), (ii) a wheat germ oil-deficient diet (nutritional stress), or (iii) left untreated as a control.

The addition of resveratrol to the diet partially mitigated the adverse effects of radiation on several life history parameters. In B. cucurbitae, a significantly higher 49-53% of adults could fly when 50-200 μM resveratrol was added to the diet compared with 32% in irradiated flies reared without resveratrol. B. cucurbitae egg hatch in irradiated insects improved significantly from 46 to 66% with the addition of 50 μM resveratrol. In irradiated B. dorsalis, adult emergence was significantly improved from 12 to 29% with the addition of 100 μM resveratrol. Resveratrol did not mediate any of the negative effects of a wheat germ oil-deficient diet in either species.

Resveratrol has potential as a means to partially mitigate the adverse effects of radiation treatment under the conditions tested. This study is the first to show that resveratrol can have radioprotective effects in invertebrates.