Abstract: This study was designed to investigate the lipid-lowering and antioxidant effects of low-sugar fermented clear Lycium barbarum juice on hyperlipidemic C. elegans. Hyperlipidemia was induced by 50 mmol/L glucose. The effect of the fermented juice on the lifespan, lipofuscin content, locomotor capacity, body dimension, lipid accumulation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, acute oxidative stress resistance, antioxidant capacity, and lipid metabolism-related gene expression of the nematode. The results demonstrated that the fermented juice significantly extended the lifespan, reduced the lipofuscin accumulation, enhanced the locomotor capacity, and improved the body dimension of hyperlipidemic C. elegans. In addition, it reduced the quantity of lipid droplets and fat deposition, significantly decreased the ROS level, increased the glutathione (GSH) content and antioxidant enzyme activities including glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), lowered the malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and thereby enhanced the antioxidant capacity. Meanwhile, the fermented juice significantly down-regulated the relative expression levels of the lifespan-related genes age-1 and sir-2.1, as well as those of the lipid metabolism-related genes fasn-1, fat-3, fat-5, fat-7 and eat-2. These findings collectively indicate that low-sugar fermented clear L. barbarum juice effectively alleviates oxidative stress and lipid accumulation induced by high glucose concentrations, exhibiting significant lipid-lowering effects.

Key words: goji berry, fermentation, Caenorhabditis elegans, lipid metabolism, antioxidant