Dietary Herbs as Modulators of In Vivo Stress Response Signaling

Dysregulation in physiological stress response signaling is implicated in development of several chronic, mitogenic, neuro/degenerative and aging related diseases. Epidemiological evidence suggests dietary herbs may have benefits against many of these diseases, but their mechanism of action is not well understood. We report for the first time a comprehensive evaluation of dietary herbs on in vivo stress response signaling. Lamiaceae herbs were tested at dietary doses for their ability to modulate stress response signaling cascades mediated via IGFR, TGF‐β, UPR and sirtuin/AMPK pathways in C. elegans. Fold change in expression of ~80 genes relevant to stress response signaling was quantified fluorometrically in a transgenic C. elegans library expressing GFP‐promoter constructs. Herbs from the same family, though related, had different and sometimes opposing effects on pathways regulating growth, development, nutrient utilization and life expectancy, perhaps, due to observed differences in secondary metabolite composition. Further research towards drug discovery and synergistic formulation development using these herbs for pharmaceutical and nutritional interventions against many diseases is underway. Grant Funding Source : Industry