Functional food and autophagy.

Autophagy is a self-cannibalising process that is essential for homeostasis and there is an association between diet and modulation of autophagy. Diet has also been intimately linked to diseases like neurodegeneration and cancers. In this study, we are interested to explore the potential of influencing the progression of human diseases by modulating of autophagy through functional. Functional food is a food constituent that provides additional health benefit other than basic nutrition. The aim of this project is to explore if pomegranate (Punica granatum) has the potential to induce autophagy. Pomegranate has been shown to offer anti-oxidant health benefits and other protective functions ranging from anti-proliferative effects in cancerous cells to neuroprotection. However, the mechanism underlying its beneficial remains poorly understood. In this present study, we have demonstrated that pomegranate induces basal autophagy in SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. This finding led us to postulate that autophagy induction may underscore the mechanism behind some of the health benefits exerted by pomegranate especially in neuroprotection.Bachelor of Science in Biological Science