Presence of peroxyradicals in cigarette smoke and the scavenging effect of shikonin, a naphthoquinone pigment.

Using a new method having been developed for the purpose of quantitative determination for peroxyradicals, the presence of peroxyradicals was proved in cigarette smoke. In brief, peroxyradicals in cigarette smoke were measured by ESR spectrometry coupled to non-reductive scavenging of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). As a result, peroxyradicals were found to be major reactive oxygen species (ROS) since the concentration of peroxyradicals recovered from cigarette smoke was much higher than that of any of other ROS (superoxide and hydroxyl radical) and nitric oxide. Furthermore, several antioxidants (ascorbic acid, reduced glutathione, epigallocatechin gallate, shikonin) were examined for scavenging activity against peroxyradicals in the cigarette smoke. Among them shikonin alone exerted the scavenging activity, suggesting that shikonin is promising antioxidant for cigarette filters because of its effectiveness against broad range of ROS including peroxyradicals, heat resistance, nonvolatility and high affinity to the filter.

Zingerone [4-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-butanone] prevents 6-hydroxydopamine-induced dopamine depression in mouse striatum and increases superoxide scavenging activity in serum.

As superoxide (*O(2)-) and hydroxyl radical (*OH) have been implicated in pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease, free radical scavenging, antioxidant, and neuroprotective agents have attracted attention as ways to prevent progression. We examined effects of zingerone, an alkaloid extracted from ginger root, on 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced dopamine (DA) reduction in mouse striatum. Zingerone administration 1 h before and for 6 more days following one intracerebroventricular 6-OHDA injection prevented reductions of striatal DA and its metabolites, and increased serum *O(2)- scavenging activity. Zingerone did not change activities of catalase or glutathione peroxidase in striatum or serum, or *O(2)- scavenging activity in striatum. Treatment with diethyldithiocarbamate, SOD inhibitor, abolished the protective effect of zingerone against 6-OHDA-induced DA reduction. In vitro, zingerone scavenged *O(2)- and *OH and suppressed lipid peroxidation only weakly. Thus, direct antioxidant effects may be a minor component of its putative neuroprotective effect; instead, zingerone acted mainly by increasing systemic superoxide dismutase activity. Effects of zingerone treatment in this model suggest possible value in treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Non-reductive scavenging of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) by peroxyradical: a useful method for quantitative analysis of peroxyradical.

A stable radical 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) has long been used as a convenient method for the antioxidant assay of biological materials such as cysteine, glutathione, ascorbic acid, tocopherol and polyhydroxy aromatic compounds (hydroquinone, pyrogallol, etc.). In this study, non-reductive scavenging of DPPH was investigated by electron spin resonance (ESR) analyses for the purpose of developing a useful method for quantitative determination of peroxyradical. Since DPPH was degraded in the presence of peroxyradical derived from UV-irradiated benzoylperoxide and the peroxyradical-induced degradation of DPPH was inhibited by the addition of a spin trapping agent 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO), it is concluded that DPPH is non-reductively scavenged by peroxyradical. Therefore, it is suggested that DPPH could be a useful agent for the quantitative measurement of peroxyradical.