Résumé
Many natural drugs of Traditional Medicine have been shown to possess anti-oxidant activity. Unani Medicine, practised from Morocco to India, is likely to possess outstanding antioxidants. So, the Unani drug, Abresham [Silk Bombyx mori] Cocoon]. was studied for its effect on lipid Peroxidatior, [TBARS], SOD [Superoxide dismutase] and Catalase, The drug was also subjected to amino acid analysis, successive extraction etc. for physico-chemical characterization. After 7-day oral treatment with 175 mg/kg of 50% ethanolic extract of Abresham [Silk Cocoon] and Vit.E as the standard antioxidant for comparison, the rats: were subjected to immobilization stress and the post-mitochondrial supernatant of Iiver was used for estimating the team parameters. The MDA concentration was decreased and SOD and Catalase activity were increased not only vis a vis the untreutcd and Vit.E - treated stressed animals but even the unstressed animals [P<0.001]. So, the Unani drug Abresham [Silk Cocoon is shown to possess a striking antioxidant effect. The remarkable increase in both SOD and Catalase, that effectively block the generation of Reactive Oxygen Species [ROS] in two successive steps, indicates that the test drug's antioxidant effect is exerted mainly by ROS generation blockade