DOI: 10.1177/1934578x261502261 ISSN: 1934-578X

Chamomile Aqueous Extract Modifies Stress Resistance and Enhances Antioxidant Defense and Fecundity in Middle-Aged Drosophila melanogaster in a Dose-dependent Manner

Tetiana Dmytriv, Maria Lylyk, Mariia Bailiak
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Objective

Chamomile ( Matricaria chamomilla ) is a popular medicinal plant worldwide, known for its high content of phenolic substances, particularly flavonoids such as apigenin. This study was designed to evaluate the potential beneficial and toxic effects of aqueous extract from chamomile flowers in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster .

Methods

An aqueous chamomile extract was prepared from dried flowers by boiling in water (1: 30) for 5 min, and its total polyphenol and flavonoid contents were determined. Some physiological traits and parameters of antioxidant defense were studied in middle-aged (24 days) D. melanogaster w 1118 females fed with different doses of chamomile aqueous extract (CAE), starting at 3 days after eclosion.

Results

Feeding with CAE sensitized flies to cold stress, conferred resistance to oxidative and heat stresses, and promoted higher fecundity than in the control flies. These effects were non-linearly dependent on the dose of CAE. The highest fecundity was observed at a CAE concentration of 50% (v/v), whereas the highest resistance to heat stress was found in flies fed 25% CAE. The antioxidant capacity, measured as the activity of antioxidant enzymes and levels of low molecular mass thiol-containing antioxidants, was higher in middle-aged flies with increasing dietary dose of CAE.

Conclusions

The results suggest that CAE modulates stress resistance potentially via signaling pathways that regulate antioxidant defense in Drosophila .

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