{"doi":"10.1002/mnfr.70108","title":"Neuroprotective Potential of the Flavonoids Quercetin and Epicatechin in a <i>C. elegans</i> Tauopathy Model","abstract":"The prevalence of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) is increasing due to the global rise in longevity. The accumulation of amyloid β (Aβ) deposits and hyperphosphorylated Tau protein (p-Tau) are considered the main hallmarks of AD. A growing body of evidence suggests that the regular intake of flavonoid-rich foods could reduce the risk of developing AD or mitigate its progression. This study explores the potential of quercetin (Q) and epicatechin (EC) as effective molecules against AD-like pathology, using the Caenorhabditis elegans BR5270 strain, which expresses the pro-aggregant F3DK280 fragment of the human Tau protein. The results showed that after exposure to 150 µM of EC or Q, worms exhibited increased lifespan, improved chemotaxis, and delayed age-related decline in locomotion. To explore the molecular mechanisms involved, the expression of genes associated with the inhibition of p-Tau proteotoxicity were measured by RT-qPCR. It was found that Q and EC significantly increased the expression levels of autophagy-related genes and of a key gene for de novo synthesis of α- tubulin. EC and Q delay neurodegeneration in the C. elegans tauopathy model, suggesting their potential to reduce the risk of AD progression.","journal":"Molecular Nutrition & Food Research","year":2025,"id":538231,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":4,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9607,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2025-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1241377,"name":"Begoña Ayuda‐Durán","orcid":"0000-0001-9001-7399","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1241379,"name":"Susana González‐Manzano","orcid":"0000-0002-5739-515X","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1241380,"name":"Celestino Santos‐Buelga","orcid":"0000-0001-6592-5299","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1241381,"name":"Ana M. Gonzaléz‐Paramás","orcid":"0000-0001-5477-0703","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1241378,"name":"Lidia Garzón‐García","orcid":"0000-0003-2636-8631","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":91,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:52:21.389196Z","pmid":"40351085","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}