P. edulis Extract Protects Against Amyloid-beta Toxicity in Alzheimer's Disease Models Through Maintenance of Mitochondrial Homeostasis via the FOXO3/DAF-16 Pathway

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common and devastating disease characterized by pathological aggregations of beta-amyloid (A beta) plaques extracellularly, and Tau tangles intracellularly. While our understandings of the aetiologies of AD have greatly expanded over the decades, there is no drug available to stop disease progression. Here, we demonstrate the potential of Passiflora edulis (P. edulis) pericarp extract in protecting against A beta-mediated neurotoxicity in mammalian cells and Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) models of AD. We show P. edulis pericarp protects against memory deficit and neuronal loss, and promotes longevity in the A beta model of AD via stimulation of mitophagy, a selective cellular clearance of damaged and dysfunctional mitochondria. P. edulis pericarp also restores memory and increases neuronal resilience in a C. elegans Tau model of AD. While defective mitophagy-induced accumulation of damaged mitochondria contributes to AD progression, P. edulis pericarp improves mitochondrial quality and homeostasis through BNIP3/DCT1-dependent mitophagy and SOD-3-dependent mitochondrial resilience, both via increased nuclear translocation of the upstream transcriptional regulator FOXO3/DAF-16. Further studies to identify active molecules in P. edulis pericarp that could maintain neuronal mitochondrial homeostasis may enable the development of potential drug candidates for AD.