Effects of resveratrol on longevity, cognitive ability and aging-related histological markers in the annual fish Nothobranchius guentheri

Aging research was hindered because of the long lifespan of available vertebrates. Annual fishes of Nothobranchius have become a new model organism for aging studies. Resveratrol, a natural plant-derived chemical, prolongs lifespan in many animals. Here we used the wild strain of N. guentheri, which has the mean lifespan of 12 months, to detect the effects of resveratrol on the longevity, cognitive ability and aging-related histological markers. Our results showed that the pharmaceutical treatment of resveratrol prolonged the lifespan of N. guentheri but did not affect their body size. Three behavioral assays for cognitive ability and locomotor activity demonstrated that the resveratrol-treated fish exhibited the higher rate of performances than the fish in the control group. Further data indicated that resveratrol not only had the property of protecting N. guentheri from neurodegeneration, but retarded the aging-related histological markers in lipofuscin formation and in the expression of senescence-associated beta-galactosidase activity. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.