Antioxidant enzymes can help increase the lifespan of flies by allowing the organisms to adapt during stressful conditions. Edible mushrooms are good sources of antioxidant compounds. Auricularia auricula-judae, locally known as tenga ng daga, is a popular edible mushroom in the Philippines. We investigated the effects of chronic supplementation of wild and cultivated A. auricula-judae crude ethanolic extracts in the lifespan of adult Drosophila melanogaster in the presence and absence of environmental stress such as thermal stress and starvation stress. DPPH assay revealed a higher antioxidant activity of cultivated A. auricula-judae crude ethanolic extract (CAEE) compared to wild A. auricula-judae crude ethanolic extract (WAEE). WAEE had no effect in the lifespan of female flies but it increased the lifespan of male flies. CAEE decreased the lifespan of both male and female flies. High concentrations of the extracts resulted to a significant decrease in the lifespan of flies. Heat and starvation stress significantly reduced the lifespan of flies for both sexes. Lifespan reduction was more evident in female flies. Supplementation with CAEE and WAEE showed a profound sex-specific effect on the life span of D. melanogaster under stress. Our results showed that CAEE and WAEE did not increase the lifespan of male flies but significantly increased the lifespan of female flies under starvation and heat stress.
Key words: Auricularia auricula-judae, lifespan, heat stress, energy deprivation, DPPH assay
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