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Antioxidant potential of aqueous extract of Phyllanthus amarus in rats
Objective: Increased levels of oxidative stress may be implicated in the etiology of many pathological conditions. Protective antioxidant action imparted by many plant extracts and plant products make them promising therapeutic drugs for free radical induced pathologies. In this study we assessed th...
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Published in: | Indian journal of pharmacology 2009-03, Vol.41 (2), p.64-67 |
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Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | Objective: Increased levels of oxidative stress may be implicated in
the etiology of many pathological conditions. Protective antioxidant
action imparted by many plant extracts and plant products make them
promising therapeutic drugs for free radical induced pathologies. In
this study we assessed the antioxidant potential of Phyllanthus amarus
(Euphorbiaceae). Materials and Methods: Experimental rats were divided
into two groups: Control and Phyllanthus amarus (P. amarus) treated.
Treated rats received P. amarus aqueous extract (PAAEt) at a dose of
200 mg/kg body wt/day for 8 weeks. After the treatment period of 8
weeks lipid peroxidation (LPO), vitamin C, uric acid and reduced
glutathione (GSH) were estimated in plasma and antioxidant enzymes:
Glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase
(SOD) were also assayed. Genotoxicity of PAAEt was assessed by single
cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) of lymphocytes under both in vitro and
in vivo conditions. The protective role of PAAEt against hydrogen
peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), streptozotocin (STZ) and nitric oxide generating
system induced lymphocyte DNA damage was also assessed by SCGE.
Results: PAAEt treated rats showed a significant decrease in plasma LPO
and a significant increase in plasma vitamin C, uric acid, GSH levels
and GPx, CAT and SOD activities. SCGE experiment reveals that PAAEt was
devoid of genotoxicity and had a significant protective effect against
H 2 O 2 , STZ and nitric oxide (NO) induced lymphocyte DNA damage.
Conclusion: The results suggest the non-toxic nature of PAAEt and
consumption of PAAEt can be linked to improved antioxidant status and
reduction in the risk of oxidative stress. |
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ISSN: | 0253-7613 1998-3751 |
DOI: | 10.4103/0253-7613.51342 |