RESUMO
Objective: To investigate the effect of gastrodin against oxidative stress induced by high glucose in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Methods: Primary HUVEC were isolated and cultured, then the oxidative injury model of HUVEC was established by high glucose, and the cells were treated with different concentration of gastrodin. The cell viability of HUVEC, nitric oxide (NO) content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities, total anti-oxidative capacity (T-AOC), malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level were determined. Furthermore, the expression of NF-κB mRNA in HUVEC was also detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. Results: Compared with the control group, the oxidative stress was strengthened obviously in cells treated with high glucose. However, gastrodin could increase the activity of SOD and CAT and enhance T-AOC in HUVEC. Meanwhile, the amounts of MDA and ROS were decreased, and the level of NF-κB mRNA was also reduced markedly. Conclusion: These results indicate that gastrodin could inhibit the oxidative stress in HUVEC by enhancing the activity of anti-oxidative enzyme, and decreasing the amounts of lipid peroxidation products and ROS. The mechanism may be involved in NF-κB pathway.