Abstract
Sucrose is a common ingredient in many foods. However, intake of High-Sucrose Diet (HSD) for a longer duration can fuel metabolic and physiological issues. Hence, continuous efforts implying animal models are essential to mitigate the adverse impacts of HSD on health. Rutin is a bioactive compound with greater biocompatibility and health-promoting effects. Nonetheless, studies investigating the protective efficacy of rutin against HSD-induced health hazards are scarce. Hence, the present work aims to explore the ameliorative potential of rutin against the HSD-mediated hazards in Drosophila melanogaster. First instar larvae of D. melanogaster were orally exposed to control, HSD (30%-sucrose), and rutin-supplemented foods. D. melanogaster exposed to HSD for prolonged periods exhibited reduced survivability, physical fitness, and growth, while rutin co-supplementation significantly mitigated these effects. Rutin co-treatment also normalized HSD-induced eye morphology defects and light insensitivity, alleviated oxidative stress, and normalized sub-cellular endogenous antioxidants. Moreover, rutin supplementation improved cell survivability in visceral organs, reduced protein and lipid oxidation as evidenced by down-regulated protein carbonyl and MDA contents, and boosted CYP4501A1 and GST functions. Thus, co-administration of rutin, mainly at 150, 200, and 250 μM concentrations, effectively mitigated HSD-induced oxidative stress and associated organismal and sub-organismal level adverse outcomes in D. melanogaster, suggesting a protective dietary intervention of rutin against HSD-induced organismal and sub-organismal-level health hazards. Moreover, rutin can be considered as a promising bioactive compound in diets for artificial insect rearing in a controlled environment.
