Jing-Juan Yang, Sheng-Lan Zhao, Xi Zhang, Ya-Ge Ma, Jian-Guo Jiang,

Polygonatum kingianum saponins delay cellular senescence through SASP down-

regulation and prolong the healthy lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans by activating
sir-2.1/autophagy,
Industrial Crops and Products,
Volume 201,
2023,
116903,
ISSN 0926-6690,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2023.116903.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926669023006684)
Abstract: Polygonatum kingianum has been widely regarded as a potential resource
for anti-aging. In this study, we aimed to investigate the specific effect and
action mechanism of saponins, the main active component of the plant, based on the
current promising anti-aging targets. The results demonstrated that Polygonatum
kingianum saponins (PKS) significantly delayed stress-induced and replicative
cellular senescence. Model cells MRC-5 treated with PKS exhibited increased cell
proliferation viability, reduced β-galactosidase activity, and improved cell cycle
arrest. These positive trends were attributed to the senescence-associated
secretory phenotype (SASP) down-regulation by PKS. The mRNA expression and factor
secretion levels of some typical SASP factors, such as IL-6, IL-8, and CXCL-10,
were significantly decreased under the effect of PKS, which effectively inhibited
SASP-mediated senescence diffusion and improved the cellular microenvironment.
Additionally, PKS was found to have a favorable effect on the healthy lifespan of
model animals. Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) treated with PKS showed
increased lifespan, a significant reduction in lipofuscin accumulation,
strengthened stress resistance ability, and enhanced antioxidant activity
(SOD/CAT/MDA/ROS). Further mechanistic studies indicated that PKS can upregulate
sir-2.1 in C. elegans and then affect the transcriptional activity of daf-16.
Moreover, PKS exhibited autophagy-inducing effects, as evidenced by the up-
regulated expression of autophagy-related genes (lgg-1 and bec-1) and an increased
number of autophagosome monitored in worms treated with PKS. These findings suggest
that PKS possesses the superiority of multiple pathways for anti-aging. As a
promising anti-aging natural drug resource, PKS is worthy of further application
and development.
Keywords: Polygonatum kingianum saponins; Aging; SASP; Healthy lifespan; Autophagy