• Toxicological Research
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.163-170
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• 2010

Cyclosporine A (CsA) is a potent immunosuppressor that is widely used in transplant surgery and the treatment of several autoimmune diseases. However, major side effects of CsA such as nephrotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity and cardiovascular diseases have substantially limited its usage. Although molecular mechanisms underlying these adverse effects are not clearly understood, there is some evidence that suggests involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In parallel, protective effects of various antioxidants have been demonstrated by many research groups. Extensive studies of CsA-induced nephrotoxcity have confirmed that the antioxidants can restore the damaged function and structure of kidney. Subsequently, there have appeared numerous reports to demonstrate the positive antioxidant effects on liver and other organ damages by CsA. It may be timely to review the ideas to envisage the relationship between ROS and the CsA-induced toxicity. This review is comprised of a brief description of the immunosuppressive action and the secondary effects of CsA, and a synopsis of reports regarding the antioxidant treatments against the ROS-linked CsA toxicity. A plethora of recent reports suggest that antioxidants can help reduce many CsA's adverse effects and therefore might help develop more effective CsA treatment regimens.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.197-200
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• 2008

The antioxidant activity of Isaria (Paecilomyces) sinclairii was determined by measuring its radical scavenging effect on 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals. The n- BuOH extract of P. sinclairii showed strong scavenging activity to DPPH. The anti-oxidant potential of the individual fraction was in the order of ethylacetate> n- BuOH>chloroform>n-hexane. The n-BuOH soluble fraction exhibiting strong anti-oxidant activity was further purified by repeated silica gel column chromatography. N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)adenosine (HEA) was isolated as one of the active principles from the n-BuOH layer. The n-BuOH layer, particularly HEA, did not increase the level of nitric oxide (NO) production in vascular endothelial cells that might be related to vasorelaxation such as the action of viagra. In addition, the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels showed little or no increase compared with control group with the treatment of I. sinclairii.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.259-267
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• 2009

Curcumin (CMN) is known to have beneficial role in anorexia, coryza, cough, diabetic wounds, and hepatic disorders apart from its inherent antioxidant effects. Therefore, the present study was aimed to evaluate antioxidant effect of CMN in prevention of nephrolithiasis in rats-induced by ethylene glycol (EG) and Vitamin D3 (Vit. D3). Male Wistar rats (175 - 200 g) were randomized in groups like control, EG + Vit. D3 induced nephrolithiatiatic rats, CMN treated rats, CMN + EG + Vit. D3 treated rats, Vit. E + EG + Vit. D3 treated rats. Urine was collected weekly throughout the experimental protocol and estimated for calcium oxalate (CaO) count. After completion of experimental protocol serum was estimated for blood urea nitrogen and creatinine. Both the kidneys were excised and used to evaluate levels of biomarkers of oxidative stress and calcium oxalate crystal deposition by histopathological studies. Administration of EG and Vit. D3 to rats resulted in increased oxidative stress, hyperoxaluria and renal deposition of CaO crystals. Supplementation with CMN improves kidney function, reduces elevated oxidative stress, urinary oxalate level and renal deposition of CaO which shows its protective action in nephrolithiasis. The increased deposition of stone in the kidney and stone forming constituents of nephrolithiatic rats were effectively lowered by treatment of CMN.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.1309-1314
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• 2008

This study was undertaken to elucidate the antioxidant activity of the ethanol (EEPB) and water (WEPB) extracts of Prunus persica branches. The extracts contained a high phenolic content and revealed a potent hydrogen donating activity in DPPH scavenging assay. Compared to $\alpha$-tocopherol, EEPB (p < 0.001) and WEPB (p < 0.05) significantly inhibited $FeCl_2$-ascorbic acid-induced lipid peroxidation, and also exhibited potent antiradical activities against hydroxyl radical, superoxide anion, nitric oxide and peroxynitrite. In copper- and AAPH-mediated human low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation systems, the extracts demonstrated a strong antioxidant function by metal chelating, rather than direct scavenging, action. Furthermore, EEPB at 5 ${\mu}g/mL$ concentration showed 80.77% inhibition of the electrophoretic mobility of LDL, compared to 77.69% for ascorbic acid and 76.92% for BHT. These results suggest that PB branch extracts may protect against oxidative stress-induced diseases.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.96-107
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• 2003

Objective : This study was undertaken to determine if Pyunggangaeuljihyul-tang (Pinggankaiyuzhixue-tang, PG) has a protective effect against cell injury induced by various toxic agents in rabbit liver, Methods : Cell injury in vitro was estimated by measuring lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and that in vivo was estimated by measuring alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity in serum. Lipid peroxidation was examined by measuring malondialdehyde, a product of lipid per oxidation. Results : PG prevented the LDH release by $CCl_4$, mercury, menadione, and tert-butyl hydroperoxide treatment in vitro in liver slices. The extent of protection by 2% PG was similar to that of $10{\mu\textrm{M}}$ N,N'-diphenyl-p-phenylenedianline, a potent antioxidant, in tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced LDH release. PG also prevented lipid peroxidation and depletion of cellular ATP induced by Hg. Hg causes motphological changes including cell necrosis and its effect was significantly prevented by PG. When rats were treated intraperitoneatly with 0.5 ml/kg of $CCl_4$, serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities were increased compared with the control, which was significantly inhibited by pretreatment of PG. PG also prevented reduction in GSH and lipid peroxidation induced by $CCl_4$ Conclusion : These results suggest that PG exerts aprotective effect against various toxic agents by its antioxidant action in liver tissues. Thus, PG may be used in prevention and treatment of drug-induced liver cell injury. However, the precise mechanisms of PG protection remain to be determined.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.60-65
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• 2005

Antioxidant films are one active packaging technology that can extend food shelf-life through preventing lipid oxidation, stabilizing color, maintaining sensory properties and delaying microbial growth in foods. Because raw, fresh and minimal processed foods are more perishable during storage or under display conditions than further processed foods, they rapidly lose their original quality. Foods are susceptible to physical, chemical, and biochemical hazards to which packaging films can be effective barriers. Although films incorporated natural (tocopherols, flavonoids and phenolic acids) or synthetic antioxidants (BHT, BHA, TBHQ, propyl gallate) have been extensively tested to improve quality and safety of various foods, food applications require addressing issues such as physical properties, chemical action, cost, and legal approval. Increased interest in natural antioxidants as substitutes for synthetic antioxidants has triggered research on use of the new natural antioxidants in films and coatings. Use of new components (phytochemicals) as film additives can improve food quality and human health. The biosynthesis of plant phenolics can potentially be optimized by active coatings on harvested fruits and vegetables. These coatings can trigger the plants natural proline-linked pentose phosphate pathway to increase the phenolic contents and maintain overall plant tissue quality. This alternate metabolic pathway has been proposed by Dr. K. Shetty and is supported by numerous studies. A new generation of active food films will not only preserve the food, but increase food's nutritional quality by optimizing raw food biochemical production of phytochemicals.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.3607-3617
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• 2012

In this paper, the study of various ortho- and meta-substituted Magnolol derivatives is presented. The reaction enthalpies related to three antioxidant action mechanisms HAT, SET-PT and SPLET for substituted Magnolols have been calculated using DFT/B3LYP method in gas-phase and water. Calculated results show that electron-withdrawing substituents increase the bond dissociation enthalpy (BDE), ionization potential (IP) and oxidation/reduction enthalpy (O/RE), while electron-donating ones cause a rise in the proton dissociation enthalpy (PDE) and proton affinity (PA). In ortho- position, substituents show larger effect on reaction enthalpies than in meta-position. In comparison to gas-phase, water attenuates the substituent effect on all reaction enthalpies. In gas-phase, BDEs are lower than PAs and IPs, i.e. HAT represents the thermodynamically preferred pathway. On the other hand, SPLET mechanism represents the thermodynamically favored process in water. Results show that calculated enthalpies can be successfully correlated with Hammett constants (${\sigma}_m$) of the substituted Magnolols. Furthermore, calculated IP and PA values for substituted Magnolols show linear dependence on the energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital ($E_{HOMO}$).

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.257-265
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• 2017

Ferulic Acid (FA) is a metabolite of phenylalanine and tyrosine, a phenolic compound commonly found in fruits and vegetables. Several studies have shown that FA has various functions such as antioxidant effect, prevention of cell damage from irradiation, protection from cell damage caused by oxygen deficiency, anti-inflammatory action, anti-aging action, liver protective effect and anti-cancer action. In this study, we investigated the maturation rate, intracellular glutathione (GSH) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) of porcine oocytes by adding FA to the in vitro maturation (IVM) medium and examined subsequent embryonic developmental competence at 5% oxygen through parthenogenesis. There is no significant difference between the control group ($0{\mu}M$) and treatment groups ($5{\mu}M$, $10{\mu}M$, $20{\mu}M$) on maturation rates. Intracellular GSH levels in oocyte treated with $5{\mu}M$ of FA significantly increased (P < 0.05), and $20{\mu}M$ of FA revealed significant decrease (P < 0.05) in intracellular ROS levels compared with the control group. Oocytes treated with FA exhibited significantly higher cleavage rates (79.01% vs 89.19%, 92.20%, 90.89%, respectively) than the control group. Oocytes treated with $10{\mu}M$ showed significantly higher blastocyst formation rates (28.3% vs 40.3%, respectively) after PA than the control group. Total cell numbers in blastocyst of $10{\mu}M$ FA displayed significantly higher (39.4 vs 51.9, respectively) than the control group. In conclusion, these results suggested that treatment with FA during IVM improved the developmental potential of porcine embryos by increasing intracellular GSH synthesis and reducing ROS levels. Also, there was an improvement of cleavage rate, blastocyst formation and total cell numbers in blastocysts. It might be associated with Keap1-Nrf2 pathway as an antioxidant regulate pathway that plays a crucial role in determining the sensitivity of cells to oxidative damages by regulating the basal and inducible expression of enzymes which is related to detoxification and anti-oxidative effects, stress response enzymes and/or proteins and ABC transporters.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.293-299
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• 2004

Antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract of two giant embryonic rices, Nampung giant embryonic rice and Hwachung giant embryonic rice, were investigated mainly focusing on their ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation and scavenge reactive oxygen species in comparison with those of general rice. The results showed that germination process increased reducing power, inhibitory activity on lipid peroxidation and scavenging ability either on superoxide or hydroxyl radicals. Among the cultivars tested, increase in antioxidative action was found to be most prominent for Hwachung giant embryonic rice cultivar. For scavenging of superoxide radicals, the extract from Nampung giant embryonic rice has the most potent activity, however, increasing rate of scavenging activity by germination process was also found to be the greatest for Hwachung giant embryonic rice. We found that the scavenging mechanism for superoxide radicals was attributed to the direct scavenging of the radicals. The scavenging of hydroxyl radicals, the most toxic oxygen radical to biological system, by the rice extracts were also examined, and the results showed that either overall activity or the increasing rate of the activity to scavenge hydroxyl radicals by germination process was the greatest for Hwachung giant embryonic rice. Moreover, the results suggested that the scavenging action to hydroxyl radicals might be mediated by direct quenching of the radicals, not by chelating $Fe^{2+}$. Further studies showed that the antioxidant action of the rice extracts tested in vitro was also operative for suppressing ROS production induced in TPA-stimulated HL-60 cells.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.227-233
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• 2021

Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and ubiquitous environmental toxin with known harmful effects to human health. Abnormal phenotypes of keratinocytes are closely associated with their exposure to B[a]P. Resorcinol is a component of argan oil with reported anticancer activities, but its mechanism of action and potential effect on B[a]P damage to the skin is unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of resorcinol on B[a]P-induced abnormal keratinocyte biology and its mechanisms of action in human epidermal keratinocyte cell line HaCaT. Resorcinol suppressed aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activity as evidenced by the inhibition of B[a]P-induced xenobiotic response element (XRE)-reporter activation and cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) expression. In addition, resorcinol attenuated B[a]P-induced nuclear translocation of AhR, and production of ROS and pro-inflammatory cytokines. We also found that resorcinol increased nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) activity. Antioxidant response element (ARE)-reporter activity and expression of ARE-dependent genes NAD(P)H dehydrogenase [quinone] 1 (NQO1), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) were increased by resorcinol. Consistently, resorcinol treatment induced nuclear localization of Nrf2 as seen by Western analysis. Knockdown of Nrf2 attenuated the resorcinol effects on ARE signaling, but knockdown of AhR did not affect resorcinol activation of Nrf2. This suggests that activation of antioxidant activity by resorcinol is not mediated by AhR. These results indicate that resorcinol is protective against effects of B[a]P exposure. The mechanism of action of resorcinol is inhibition of AhR and activation of Nrf2-mediated antioxidant signaling. Our findings suggest that resorcinol may have potential as a protective agent against B[a]P-containing pollutants.