Blackcurrant Extract Prolongs Lifespan by Alleviating Intestinal Homeostasis Imbalance and Activating the Autophagy Pathway in Drosophila

Research has shown that dysregulation of intestinal homeostasis and autophagy pathways significantly contributes to aging. Anthocyanins (AC) exhibit potent antioxidant properties and improve the intestinal environment improvement. Therefore, this study used cells and Drosophila as models to explore the life-prolonging effects and mechanisms of blackcurrant extract (BCE). BCE was effective against H₂O₂-induced oxidative damage and enhanced the antioxidant capacity of L929 and SH-SY5Y cells. In vivo, BCE prolonged the lifespan of Drosophila and improved their resistance to combat multi-factorial stress. Meanwhile, BCE improved the intestinal barrier function of Drosophila, restored the gut microenvironment, increased autophagy levels, and inhibited the abnormal proliferation of intestinal precursor cells (Esg). BCE upregulated the mRNA expression levels of antioxidant genes (Cat, Sod1, Sod2) and autophagy genes (Atg1, Atg5, Atg8a, Atg8b) in Drosophila. RNAi experiments verified the critical role of autophagy genes Atg5 and Atg8b in anti-aging. In addition, BCE rescued motor deficits and brain vacuolization in Drosophila models with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In summary, BCE extract alleviated intestinal homeostasis imbalance and activated the autophagy pathway to extend lifespan and salvage neurodegeneration in aging Drosophila. This provides a theoretical foundation for developing anti-aging functional foods from blackcurrants.