Antioxidant and anti-aging potential of Juniper berry (Juniperus communis L.) essential oil in Caenorhabditis elegans model system

Plant and plant products including essential oils are globally acclaimed for their medicinal and therapeutic values. It’s an age-old practice, owing to their safety and protective effects against reactive oxygen species (ROS)/oxidative stresses. Aging is a global challenge and needs proper attention to check on its causative factors. The increased ROS production/oxidative stress is one of the major contributing factors endorses aging and age-related disorders. To this end, the present study was designed to explore the in vivo-antioxidant and anti-aging potentials of Juniper berry essential oil (JBEO) by using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism. Present work investigated the impact of different doses (0, 10, 50, 100 ppm) on lifespan and healthspan of C. elegans. The present study revealed that lower dose (10 ppm) was highly effective and enhanced the lifespan of C. elegans by 18.54% as compared to the control. Similarly, same concentration, i.e. 10 ppm was also showing potential against various oxidative and thermal stresses. The JBEO treated worms showed 30.40% more survival under thermal stress as compared to control. Besides the increased survival percent of worms, the elevated expression of SOD-3 (39.49%) and GST-4 (25.13%) was also observed, indicating oxidative stress resistance in worms. The screening studies on mutants of C. elegans for prediction of mechanism demonstrated the involvement of major conserved transcription factors (DAF-16, SKN-1, and HSF-1) which coordinates in the stress-induced transcription and extends longevity. Overall, here we unrevealed potentials of JBEO in anti-stressor activities and lifespan extension in C. elegans. Thus, in future, more studies on JBEO will pave paths for commercialization of essential oils in the formulations of antiaging products.