Investigations into human longevity are increasingly focusing on healthspan enhancement, not just lifespan extension. Lifestyle modifications and nutritional choices, including food supplements, can significantly affect aging and general health. Phytochemicals in centenarians’ diets, such as those found in Timut pepper, a Nepalese spice with various medicinal properties, may contribute to their longevity. Similarly, Sichuan pepper, a related species, has demonstrated anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities. With the broader purpose of uncovering a novel treatment to address aging and its comorbidities, this study aims to investigate the potential lifespan- and healthspan-promoting effects of Timut pepper using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. We show that Timut pepper extract extends C. elegans’ lifespan at different maintenance temperatures and increases the proportion of active nematodes in their early adulthood. In addition, we show that Timut pepper extract enhances speed and distance moved as the nematodes age. Finally, Timut pepper extract assures extracellular matrix homeostasis by slowing the age-dependent decline of collagen expression.

Background: Probiotics are live microorganisms with intended benefits on human health including obesity. As a small and fast-growing whole organism model, Caenorhabditis elegans has been used to assess the health effects of probiotics where mechanisms can be assessed through available genetic tools. Results from C. elegans can provide data on the effect of specific probiotic strains and combinations with prebiotics and postbiotics on health-related physiology to inform selections of interventions for further study. We hypothesized that specific combinations with prebiotics and postbiotics could both speed up worm development and reduce fat deposition, suggesting they allow for more effective nutrient utilization. Methods: Here we expose C. elegans to the ABB S20 strain of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum in combination with different prebiotics and postbiotics. We then measure how these affect growth and development speed as well as fat deposition by measuring the time until the appearance of progeny and Oil Red O staining respectively. Results: Our results show that the combination of probiotic L. plantarum ABB S20 plus the postbiotic inactive yeasts K. marxianus ABB S8 and S. boulardii ABB S3 resulted in fast growth and reduced fat deposition compared to L. plantarum ABB S20 alone. Conclusion: These results demonstrate the usefulness of C. elegans as a model to efficiently screen though combinations of probiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics to find those that are candidates to help with effective nutrition use and therefore weight management.