The Effect of S-Ally Cysteine and Its Derivatives on Response to Environmental Stressors

The effect of S-ally cysteine and its derivatives on response to environmental stressors, locomotion, and amyloid beta-induced toxicity in C. elegans

Sun-Mi Beak, Seong-Min Won, Junsung Kim, and Sang-Kyu Park

Soonchunhyang University, Chungnam 31538, Republic of Korea

Lots of studies show that nutritional interventions with anti-oxidants can modulate many age-related physiological changes in various model organisms. Here, we examined the effect of S-allyl-L-cysteine (SAC) on resistance to environmental stressors and locomotional changes with aging using C. elegans as a model system. SAC is a modified amino acid that is known to have a strong antioxidant activity. The survival of worms under oxidative-stress conditions induced by hydrogen peroxide was significantly increased by supplementation of SAC. Pre-treatment of SAC significantly increased resistance to both heat stress and UV irradiation. Then, we examined the effect of SAC on motility of C. elegans and found that SAC can retard age-related decline of locomotion. The supplementation with SAC showed anti-Alzheimer’s disease activity: SAC increased resistance to amyloid beta-induced toxicity. Having observed anti-stress effects of SAC, we tested the effect of SAC-derivatives on resistance to oxidative stress and found that among nine SAC-derivatives screened, four SAC-derivatives had a strong anti-oxidant activity in vivo. Further studies will focus on the identification of other bio-activities of SAC-derivatives and anti-aging effects of SAC and its derivatives. Our study will broaden the understanding of bio-activities of SAC and suggest a possible application of SAC and its derivatives to the development of anti-stress and anti-aging compounds.

Biography

Sun-Mi Beak got her Bachelor’s degree from department of Medical Biotechnology at Soonchunhyang University in 2015. She has been working on the research project focusing on the anti-stress and anti-aging effects of cysteine derivatives since she was an undergraduate student. She entered the graduate school at Soonchunhyang University in 2015 and started her own research projects for her Master’s degree.