Effect of taibai yangshen on serum lipid peroxide, monoamine oxidase, and superoxide dismutase of young and old rats

Guolian LEI; Wei WANG; Ying JIN; Jitao WANG; Yonggang YAN

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

The lipid peroxide, monoamine oxidase, and superoxide dismutase are the important biochemical pharmacological indexes to test the ability of eliminating the free radicals of organism. The lipid peroxide is also a quantitative index of senility oxidation.

OBJECTIVE:

To test the effect of taibai yangshen on resisting free radicals through testing the serum lipid peroxide, monoamine oxidase (MAO),and superoxide dismutase (SOD) of the senile rats.

DESIGN:

A random control experiment.

SETTING:

Pharmacy Department of Shaanxi College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).MATERIALS The experiment was done in March 2002 in the pharmacological Experimental Base of Shaanxi College of TCM. The 40 healthy young rats and 40 old rats were selected. The water extract of ground taibai yangshen was concentrated to 1.5 g/mL. The ginseng decoction was concentrated to 0.3 g/mL.

METHODS:

The young and old rats were randomized into 8 groupsyoung normal control group, young ginseng group, young taibai yangshen big dosage group, young taibai yangshen small dosage group, old normal control group, old ginseng group, old taibai yangshen big dosage group, and old taibai yangshen small dosage group. Ten rats were in each group. Seven days for adaptation to the environment. Then the normal control group was gastro-perfused daily with the distilled water 20 g/kg, the ginseng the taibai yangshen big and small dosage groups were gastro-perfused daily spectively. Thirty-five days later, the rats were cut heads in the state of anesthesia. The serum was centrifuged. The sulfuration barbituric acid was adopted to test the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA), the ultraviolet absorption was adopted to test the activity of MAO, and the xanthine oxidase was adopted to test the activity of SOD.MAIN OUTCOME

MEASURES:

The concentration of MDA and the activity of MAO and SOD.groups and the taibai yangshen big and small dosage groups, the concentration of MDA and the activity of MAO were lower than that of the normal control groups (P ＜ 0.05-0.01), the activity of SOD was higher than yangshen small dosage group, the concentration of MDA and the activity of MAO were higher than that of the young taibai yangshen small dosage group [(8.23±1.73), (6.73±1.69) μmol/L; (41.7±15.9), (40.9±14.6) nkat/L,P ＜ 0.05]. In the old taibai yangshen big and small dosage groups, the activity of SOD was lower than that of the young taibai yangshen big and small dosage groups [(386.75±26.71), (403.49±21.58) NU/mL; (382.13±20.07),(389.69±24.45) NU/mL, P ＜ 0.05].

CONCLUSION:

Taibai yangshen functions well to inhibit the MAO, reduce the lipid peroxide, and enhance the activity of SOD, able to resist the free radicals to put off aging.