ABSTRACT
Aging is considered as the single largest factor for age related disorders like Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular diseases, cataract and diabetes. Hence identification of pharmacological compounds that slow down normal aging processes and that enhance life span is the need of the hour. Medicinal plants and their isolates contain large amounts of polyphenols and have antioxidant capacity and can intervene in the aging process. One such herb is Catharanthus roseus(C.roseus). In this study C. roseus extracts showed in vitro antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity. This study has analyzed the longevity promoting effect of Catharanthus roseus on a popular model of aging research, Caenorhabditis elegans(C.elegans). Our results showed that the hydro alcoholic extract of C. roseus does extend the life span of wild type and a mutant strain of C.elegans and improves its stress resistance. Further investigations indicate that C. roseus could activate the FOXO head transcription factor Daf-16. It also enhances the expression of HSP 16.4 in wild type N2 bristol C.elegans.
