Research on the anti-ageing mechanism of Prunella vulgaris L

• Published in: Scientific reports 2023-07, Vol.13 (1), p.12398-12398, Article 12398
• Main Authors: Li, Ping, Lv, Xiao, Wang, Junrong, Zhang, Chenyang, Zhao, Jiahao, Yang, Yadong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/154; 631/337; 631/80; 692/308; 692/4017; Aging; Analgesics; Animals; Blood pressure; Cancer research; Cell proliferation; Cholecystokinin; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16; D-Galactose; DNA damage; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Epigenetics; Flow cytometry; Galactose; Humanities and Social Sciences; Immunosenescence; Inflammation; INK4a protein; Lipids; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes B; Lymphocytes T; Medical research; Mice; multidisciplinary; Natural killer cells; p16 Protein; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Prunella; Prunella vulgaris; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Splenocytes; Superoxide dismutase; Telomeres; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Tumor necrosis factor-α
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39609-1

Prunella vulgaris L. ( P. vulgaris ) has long been considered to have antipyretic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, lowering blood lipids and pressure. Many studies show that in addition to the traditional telomere attrition, DNA damage and epigenetic changes, immunosenescence is also a new possibility to explore the mechanism of ageing. Therefore, this herb may have potential anti-ageing effects. Typically, there are a series of markers that identify senescent cells, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD)2, an inhibitor of CDK4 (p16 INK4A ), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, immune cells number, proliferation, and nuclear abnormalities. These changes rarely present in young tissues, while greatly increasing in response to ageing. Firstly, the ageing model of the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mouse was established by d -galactose subcutaneous injection. Then, SOD2, p16 INK4A and TNF-α were detected by quantitative Real-time PCR (qPCR), Western Blot (WB) and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Simultaneously, senescent cells in livers were stained by hematoxylin and eosin (HE). The viability of splenocytes was detected by Cell Counting Kit-8(CCK-8). The difference in specific immune cells (NK cells, B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes) was detected by flow cytometry. Both low (100 mg/kg) and high (300 mg/kg) concentrations of P. vulgaris treated ageing ICR mice show anti-ageing alterations, such as p16 INK4A decreased approximately 1/2 and SOD2 tripled in livers, TNF-α decreased from 1 to 0.6 in plasma, and T cells increased from 0.09 to 0.19%. Compared with the ageing group, the spleen cells in the Prunella-treated group had stronger proliferation ability. Thus, P. vulgaris could have an anti-ageing effect. This is the first study to demonstrate the anti-ageing effect of P. vulgaris . It may also be capable of preventing a variety of age-related diseases.