Aurothiomalate as preventive and chain-breaking antioxidant in radical degradation of high-molar-mass hyaluronan.

The potential anti- or pro-oxidative effects of a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug, aurothiomalate, to protect high-molar-mass hyaluronan against radical degradation were investigated along with L-glutathione - tested in similar functions. Hyaluronan degradation was induced by the oxidative system Cu(II) plus ascorbate known as the Weissberger's oxidative system. The time- and dose-dependent changes of the dynamic viscosity of the hyaluronan solutions were studied by the method of rotational viscometry. Additionally, the antioxidative activity of aurothiomalate expressed as a radical-scavenging capacity based on a decolorization 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assay was inspected. At the higher concentrations tested, L-glutathione showed excellent scavenging of (.) OH and peroxyl-type radicals, however, at the lowest concentration applied, its pro-oxidative effect was revealed. The effects of aurothiomalate on hyaluronan degradation were similar to that of L-glutathione, however, at the lowest concentration tested, no significant pro-oxidant effect was observed.