Abstract
A study has been conducted to investigate the radioprotective effects of purslane extracts (P) when i.p. injected before irradiation (R). For studying the amino acid composition, three groups of ICR mice (7-week-old) were tested. The first group i.p. injected with purslane extract for 5 days were irradiated with 6 Gy of ${\gamma}$-radiation (P+R). The second group was irradiate with 6 Gy without any pretreatment (R). The third group was non-irradiated control (CT). Each group divided into two groups for the survival rate study, one injected with saline (S) and the other injected with purslane extract (P) for five days and then irradiated with 8 Gy. The amino acid composition of urine samples were analyzed with HPLC for 19 days after irradiation. A few kinds of amino acids such as lysine and methionine in urine from P+R group increased in comparison with those from CT or R group. The survival rate of P group maintained much higher than that of S group during experimental period. The results obtained may support that this plant has radioprotective substances by means of life-lengthening, not of urine amino acid components.