Effect of antioxidants on adenosine triphosphatase activity of brain and heart in male mice during ageing.

The present study deals with the effect of butylated hydroxy anisole, propyl gallate and alpha-tocopherol on ATPase activity of brain and heart in ageing male mice. The activity of both the tissues significantly increased during pre-reproductive and reproductive phases. However, during the post-reproductive phase, ATPase activity of heart increased while that of the brain remained unaltered. The enhanced activity could be attributed to interference by the antioxidants in cellular metabolism and/or their free radical scavenging effect.