Verma Nibha, Vinayak Manjula
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Centre of Advance Study in Zoology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India.
Biosci Rep. 2009 Jun;29(3):151-64. doi: 10.1042/BSR20080035.
Antioxidants are substances that fight against ROS (reactive oxygen species) and protect the cells from their damaging effects. Production of ROS during cellular metabolism is balanced by their removal by antioxidants. Any condition leading to increased levels of ROS results in oxidative stress, which promotes a large number of human diseases, including cancer. Therefore antioxidants may be regarded as potential anticarcinogens, as they may slow down or prevent development of cancer by reducing oxidative stress. Fruits and vegetables are rich source of antioxidants. Moreover, a number of phytochemicals present in medicinal plants are known to possess antioxidant activity. Therefore the aim of the present study was to investigate antioxidant activity of the aqueous extract of nuts of the medicinal plant Semecarpus anacardium in AKR mouse liver during the development of lymphoma. Antioxidant action was monitored by the activities of antioxidant enzymes catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione transferase. The effect of S. anacardium was also studied by observing the activity of LDH (lactate dehydrogenase), an enzyme of anaerobic metabolism. LDH activity serves as a tumour marker. The activities of antioxidant enzymes decreased gradually as lymphoma developed in mouse. However, LDH activity increased progressively. Administration of the aqueous extract of S. anacardium to lymphoma-transplanted mouse led to an increase in the activities of antioxidant enzymes, whereas LDH activity decreased significantly, indicating a decrease in carcinogenesis. The aqueous extract was found to be more effective than doxorubicin, a classical anticarcinogenic drug, with respect to its action on antioxidant enzymes and LDH in the liver of mice with developing lymphomas.
抗氧化剂是对抗活性氧（ROS）并保护细胞免受其损伤作用的物质。细胞代谢过程中ROS的产生与抗氧化剂对它们的清除保持平衡。任何导致ROS水平升高的状况都会引发氧化应激，而氧化应激会促使包括癌症在内的多种人类疾病的发生。因此，抗氧化剂可被视为潜在的抗癌物质，因为它们可能通过减轻氧化应激来减缓或预防癌症的发展。水果和蔬菜是抗氧化剂的丰富来源。此外，已知药用植物中存在的多种植物化学物质具有抗氧化活性。因此，本研究的目的是在淋巴瘤发展过程中，研究药用植物印度乌木坚果水提取物对AKR小鼠肝脏的抗氧化活性。通过抗氧化酶过氧化氢酶、超氧化物歧化酶和谷胱甘肽转移酶的活性来监测抗氧化作用。还通过观察厌氧代谢酶乳酸脱氢酶（LDH）的活性来研究印度乌木的作用。LDH活性可作为肿瘤标志物。随着小鼠淋巴瘤的发展，抗氧化酶的活性逐渐降低。然而，LDH活性则逐渐升高。给移植了淋巴瘤的小鼠施用印度乌木水提取物会导致抗氧化酶活性增加，而LDH活性则显著降低，这表明致癌作用有所减弱。就其对患有发展性淋巴瘤小鼠肝脏中抗氧化酶和LDH的作用而言，发现该水提取物比经典抗癌药物阿霉素更有效。
