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Updated: Sep 7, 2026
Measuring Caenorhabditis elegans Life Span in 96 Well Microtiter Plates
Published on: March 18, 2011
Glucan exopolysaccharide from Enterococcus hirae OL616073 alleviates oxidative stress and extends lifespan in
Uma Rani Potunuru1, P Padmapriya1, Balasubramanian Chellammal Muthubharathi2,3
1Department of Food Science and Technology, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, India.
Objective:
This study aims to evaluate the oxidative stress alleviating potential of glucan exopolysaccharide (EPS) using in vitro (biochemical and cell culture) and in vivo Caenorhabditis elegans model systems.
Methods:
The in vitro antioxidant potential of EPS from Enterococcus hirae OL616073 of food origin was evaluated using reducing power, ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, and 2,2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical-scavenging activity assays. The antioxidant effect of EPS was also evaluated in C. elegans (wild type Bristol N2), a simple multi-cellular eukaryotic model via survival assay, gene expression, DCF-DA staining, reproduction, and pharyngeal pumping assay. Finally, the ROS scavenging activity of EPS was investigated in human colon cancer cells (Caco-2 cell line) by DCF-DA staining and flow cytometry.
Results And Discussion:
The in vitro assays showed the significant antioxidant activity of EPS as evidenced by reducing power, FRAP, and ABTS radical-scavenging activity. In C. elegans, EPS treatment (150 and 300 μg/mL) significantly extended the lifespan of wild-type (Bristol N2) C. elegans (∼1.21% and ∼0.83%) compared to control. EPS treatment (150 μg/mL) resulted in increased egg-laying capacity and little change in the pharyngeal pumping rate of C. elegans over five consecutive days. In addition, pre-, post-, and co-treatment of EPS (150 μg/mL) in the presence or absence of H2O2 (1 mM) showed a reduction in ROS generation. Similarly, in the colorectal cancer cell line (Caco-2), high basal intracellular ROS levels were reduced with increasing concentration of EPS via an increase in intracellular antioxidant enzymes.
Conclusion:
EPS from E. hirae OL616073 of food origin exhibited significant antioxidant potential across diverse model systems. These findings highlight its potential as a natural antioxidant ingredient for applications in functional foods, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceutical formulations.
