Curcumin Acetylsalicylate Extends the Lifespan of

Aspirin and curcumin have been reported to be beneficial to anti-aging in a variety of biological models. Here, we synthesized a novel compound, curcumin acetylsalicylate (CA), by combining aspirin and curcumin. We characterized how CA affects the lifespan of () worms. Our results demonstrated that CA extended the lifespan of worms in a dose-dependent manner and reached its highest anti-aging effect at the concentration of 20 μM. In addition, CA reduced the deposition of lipofuscin or "age pigment" without affecting the reproductivity of worms. CA also caused a rightward shift of lifespan curves in the presence of paraquat-induced (5 mM) oxidative stress or 37 °C acute heat shock. Additionally, CA treatment decreased the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in and increased the expression of downstream genes superoxide dismutase , glutathione S-transferase , heat shock protein and catalase-1 . Notably, CA treatment resulted in nuclear translocation of the DAF-16 transcription factor, which is known to stimulate the expression of SOD-3, GST-4, HSP-16, and CTL-1. CA did not produce a longevity effect in mutants. In sum, our data indicate that CA delayed the aging of without affecting reproductivity, and this effect may be mediated by its activation of DAF-16 and subsequent expression of antioxidative genes, such as and . Our study suggests that novel anti-aging drugs may be developed by combining two individual drugs.