Antioxidant Effect of Ethyl acetate Fraction of Breea segetum (Bunge) Kitam. in Caenorhabditis elegans

During a screening of native Korean plants for antioxidant properties, the ethyl acetate fraction of Breea segetum (Bunge) Kitam. (Compositae) methanol extract demonstrated potent DPPH radical scavenging activity. To evaluate its protective mechanisms, the ethyl acetate fraction of B. segetum (EABS) was tested for its effects on superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, catalase activity, oxidative stress resistance, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels within a Caenorhabditis elegans model system. Furthermore, to assess whether EABS induces stress-resistance proteins, SOD-3 expression was analyzed using the transgenic C. elegans strain CF1553. The results revealed that EABS significantly enhanced both SOD and catalase activities while reducing ROS accumulation in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, EABS-treated CF1553 nematodes exhibited a marked increase in SOD-3::GFP fluorescence intensity compared to the untreated control group.