Phyllanthus emblica L. (PE) is commonly known as a medicine and food homologous plant, which is abundant in natural products polyphenols. In the present study, polyphenols were extracted from PE fruit by response surface method, and the anti-aging ability was determined. PE fruit polyphenols exhibited strong antioxidant capacities in scavenging free radicals, and anti-cholinesterase ability by inhibition of AChE (IC50 0.2186 ± 0.0416 mg/mL) and BuChE (IC50 0.0542 ± 0.0054 mg/mL) in vitro. Moreover, PE fruit polyphenols showed strong protective effect against the aging process in Caenorhabditis elegans model, including increased thermal resistance, extended lifespan by 18.53% (p < 0.05), reduced activity of AChE by 34.71% and BuChE by 45.38% (p < 0.01). This was accompanied by the enhancement in antioxidant enzymes activity of SOD by 30.74% (p < 0.05) and CAT by 8.42% (p > 0.05), while decrease in MDA level by 36.25% (p < 0.05). These properties might be interrelated with the presence of abundant flavonols and phenolic acids identified by UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS, such as quercetin, myricetin, ellagic, gallic, and chlorogenic acids, together with their glycosides. The remarkable antioxidant and anti-aging potential of PE fruit polyphenols could be implemented in the food and pharmaceutical industry.
Keywords: anti-aging; antioxidant; bioactivity evaluation; medicine and food homologous plant substances; natural products; polyphenols.