Thus, it is critical that cells maintain optimal antioxidant defenses to reduce oxidative damage. ROS generation has important implications in the etiology of numerous diseases and in aging ( 3, 4). When these cytotoxic agents overwhelm the endogenous antioxidant defense system, serious oxidative stress and damage occur as reflected by the oxidative modification of macromolecules such as lipid, protein and DNA ( 2). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) 2 are generated ubiquitously in aerobic organisms ( 1).
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These protective effects are explained in part by elevated antioxidant enzyme activities in the various tissues.Īntioxidant enzyme, free radical, ginseng, oxidative stress, rats We conclude that ginseng supplementation can prevent age-associated increase in oxidant production and oxidative protein damage in rats. Neither the H nor L diet affected age-dependent lipid peroxidation in the heart or muscle, but protein carbonyl content was attenuated with the H diet in the heart ( P < 0.05) and with both the L and H diets in DVL ( P < 0.01). H rats showed higher glutathione peroxidase activity in DVL and soleus muscle ( P < 0.05), and elevated citrate synthase activity in the heart of both age groups and DVL of Y rats ( P < 0.05). Superoxide dismutase activity was elevated in heart and DVL of H rats, and in soleus of L rats ( P < 0.05). Oxidant generation, measured with 2′7′-dichlorofluorescin (DCFH), was significantly lowered with ginseng feeding in the homogenates of heart, soleus, and the deep portion of vastus lateralis muscle (DVL) ( P < 0.05) in both Y and O rats, and the effects were dose dependent. Female Fischer 344 rats at 4 (Y, n = 38) or 22 (O, n = 25) mo of age were randomly divided into three groups and fed either a AIN-93G formula-based control diet (C) or a diet containing 0.5 g/kg (low dose, L) or 2.5 g/kg (high dose, H) dry ginseng power for 4 mo. The antioxidant properties of North American ginseng ( Panax quinquefolium) were investigated in young and old rats fed a ginseng-supplemented diet for 4 mo.