Protective effect of Vigna unguiculata extract against aging and neurodegeneration

Aging and age-related neurodegeneration are among the major challenges in modern medicine because of the progressive increase in the number of elderly in the world population. Nutrition, which has important long-term consequences for health, is an important way to prevent diseases and achieve healthy aging. The beneficial effects of on metabolic disorders have been widely documented. Here, we show that an aqueous extract of beans delays senescence both in and , in a Snf1/AMPK-dependent manner. Consistently, an increased expression of FOXO, SIRT1, NOTCH and heme oxygenase (HO) genes, already known to be required for the longevity extension in , is also shown. Preventing α-synuclein self-assembly is one of the most promising approaches for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD), for which aging is a risk factor. aggregation of α-synuclein, its toxicity and membrane localization in yeast and neuroblastoma cells are strongly decreased in the presence of bean extract. In a model of PD, extract substantially reduces the number of the age-dependent degeneration of the cephalic dopaminergic neurons. Our findings support the role of beans as a functional food in age-related disorders.